Year of health reform to end without California health care plan

California legislature is about to finish the "year of health care reform" without passing a health care plan, inspite of all the efforts in the Assembly last week.

While that outcome had become expected, what was surprising to many observers was the person responsible for blocking action before the new year: Don Perata, the Senate leader and a liberal Democrat from Oakland who co-authored the bill.

Perata announced he would not allow the Senate to vote on the Assembly-approved bill - not until he knows more about how the $14 billion-plus measure would affect existing health programs and the state's overall finances.

But hearing Perata question a measure that bears his own name has left Capitol observers wondering what exactly he's up to. Is he seeking leverage on some other issue? Exacting revenge on his Assembly counterpart and occasional rival, Speaker Fabian N