After nine months of work, more than 3,059 proposed bills, amendments and resolutions, a dysfunctional budget process and the usual bickering … what has the California legislature have to show for 2007?

Not much.

Prison reform, health care and education were all to be tackled this year, but as usual with "best-made plans," events intervened.

The much touted "post-partisanship" advocated by Governor Schwarzenegger last year has yet to make its debut. In fact, it might as well have been recalled to China with other toys because no one seems to want to play that game.

The only item the Sacramento politicos 'tackled' was prison reform. And that might be because the Federal government is inching closer to putting the entire system into receivership. (Prison health care already is.)

This prison discussion was to be different, according to the Governor. The legislature was going to talk about sentencing and parole reform, preparing inmates for successful release back into society, and a number of topics which would have begun to address a very dismal situation.

The result: $7.3 billion in bonds to pay for 53,000 new beds. In other words, building more of something that is not working. It doesn't seem like the wisest course of action --- but that was all the legislature could agree upon. It is always safer for a politician to keep prisoners behind bars.

Passing with only one committee hearing, the measure also calls upon the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to demonstrate success at rehabilitation. But the measure did not define what success might look like.

The best-laid plans were derailed this year by yet another long, drawn-out budget process. Both sides were frustrated by more than 50 days of standoff with 14 Republican Senators. By the time it was over --- like drained athletic contestants --- few had the will-power or strength to continue.

Most observers, in the end, wondered what the whole thing was about. Words like payback, power grab and positioning were freely used.

Whatever the ultimate cause, most impacted by $700 million in eventual cuts that Governor Schwarzenegger conceded to the Republicans were the poorest and most vulnerable Californians.

Why is $45 million in tax cuts for luxury yacht owners still in the budget while a highly acclaimed $55 million program to aid mentally ill homeless people was cut? A functioning, highly successful $34.6 million program to enroll eligible children in health insurance programs met the axe. Cost of living adjustments for the blind, elderly and disabled were eliminated --- again. And the list goes on.

That borders on just plain cruel. Even the Governor's message seemed to make the cuts with reluctance.

If you need a tax break to buy a yacht, you probably can't afford it. If you're mentally ill and need some help to find a home, California apparently can't afford that either.

Good news was rare in this year's session. Steps to better air quality in the San Joaquin Valley were approved; assisted suicide legislation was voted down; some progress was made on such issues as food stamps eligibility, making abandoned babies safer, and compassionate release legislation.

I'm the first to admit that it's easier to rant about injustices than to work out solutions for complicated problems. In many cases it's the system that obstructs answers, not the hearts and dedication of many legislators, staffers and others.

But, frankly, that is what legislators and staff are elected and hired to do --- figure out solutions to complicated problems and make California a better place.

A lot of very smart individuals roam the halls of the Capitol --- but one side as a whole will not work with the other. Or they use their smarts to engineer a zero-sum battle with their political rivals --- the better to appeal to political bases on opposite ends of the spectrum.

Of the unfinished agenda items, the Governor has called a special session to deal with health insurance and water issues --- something that the budget debacle sidetracked. The "year of education," declared by the Governor at the start of the session is no where to be seen.

It's hard to believe that there are 3,059 new laws than need to be enacted in California this year, or any year, for that matter. Fortunately, less than a third usually make it to the Governor's desk.

We as citizens should engage and challenge our elected officials to use their time more efficiently and carry on reasonable, respectful debate about making California a better place for all.

Steve Pehanich is the executive director of Catholic Charities of California. Write him at spehanich@cacatholic.org.