New era. Republican Assemblyman Chris Norby has thrown in the towel – clinching a two-thirds majority for Democrats in both houses of the state Legislature. Norby acknowledges that he won’t be able to make up a 3,000 vote deficit to Fullerton City Councilwoman Sharon Quirk-Silva in a newly drawn Assembly district. Norby’s concession means there will be 45 Democrats in the 80-person Assembly. The party also picked up enough seats in last week’s election to get a two-thirds supermajority in the Senate. Sacramento Bee
Road warrior. South Bay state Senator Ted Lieu says he’ll introduce a measure that would triple the state’s vehicle license fees. Lieu says the move would generate up to $4 billion a year to pay for roads and transit projects. It could also be the first test of the Democrats new supermajority in the Legislature. If the measure is approved, a constitutional amendment would be placed on the state ballot, probably in the fall of 2014. L.A. Daily News
Not over. State officials say they’re determined to find out who’s behind a shadowy $11 million donation that an Arizona non-profit gave to a California political committee a couple of weeks before the election. The Fair Political Practices Commission is formally opening a probe into the donation. Previously, state officials have referred to the gift as “political money laundering.” The cash came from a Phoenix group called Americans for Responsible Leadership. The non-profit donated it to a PAC that used in the fight against Proposition 30, and to support Proposition 32. San Jose Mercury News
Debt-free future? California could be headed out of its long-running financial crisis, but not right away. The state’s non-partisan Legislative Analyst is projecting a $1.9 billion deficit over the next 18 months. But Mac Taylor predicts a growing surplus in each of the next several years after that. His estimates are based on a number of assumptions, including no pay raises for state workers. L.A. Daily News
Charter surge. Nearly one in seven LAUSD students now attends a charter school. A National report finds that nearly 100,000 L.A. students attended charters last year. That’s double the total of New York City, the nation’s largest school district. EdSource
Fly time. About 1.8 million passengers are expected to move in and out of LAX over the Thanksgiving holiday traveling period that begins tomorrow. That’s up a tick from last year. Prepare to have company when you get on board: airlines are reporting that domestic flights will be at 90 percent capacity.