A couple of interesting stories out of California over the weekend. First, late on Friday the state Senate passed a bill to create a pilot program of Clean Elections funding for candidates for Secretary of State. The bill now goes back to the state Assembly for their final approval (they passed it once already earlier in the cycle). If it passes the Assembly it goes to the Governor for his signature.

As Clean Elections makes progress the city of Los Angeles is taking steps to make lobbyists more identifiable. The Los Angeles City Council is weighing a plan to require all lobbyists to wear identifying badges while in city building and at city-sponsored events. Lobbyists aren't real fond of the idea and are calling them "Scarlet Ls", but as backers of the proposal explain it's not really about shaming lobbyists but about letting lawmakers know when they're in the presence of a professional influencer.