CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / SACRAMENTO

The state reached a $335,000 settlement on June 29 with a motorist whose vehicle was rear-ended by former state Sen. Carole Migden (D-San Francisco), said aides to Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown.

The crash occurred at the end of what witnesses said was an erratic drive by the ex-lawmaker on Interstate 80. In multiple 911 calls on May 18, 2007, witnesses said Migden was talking on her cellphone, weaving across the road, driving more than 80 miles an hour and hitting a guardrail.

After exiting the freeway, she reportedly hit a car stopped at a red light, slightly injuring the driver and a 3-year-old passenger.

Migden, who initially said the episode may have been related to her cancer treatment, pleaded no contest in Solano County Superior Court to a misdemeanor charge of reckless driving and paid $710 in fines and fees.

On top of the settlement, the state paid more than $25,000 for property damage. The state also paid $5,000 when Migden sideswiped a bus in 2006, according to records.

Migden lost a Democratic primary for her Senate seat last year and was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to a $132,000-a-year job on the Integrated Waste Management Board, a panel that meets once a month and that the governor has said is unnecessary.

-- Michael Rothfeld