SACRAMENTO - After putting together deals on several major issues in 2006, California legislators are singing the praises of bipartisanship and cooperation as they begin their 2007 session.

"We have much to do in the coming legislative session - too much to let excessive partisanship or rigid ideology get in the way," Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez said in a recent weekend radio address.

But there will be plenty of potentially divisive issues on the agenda when lawmakers reconvene on Jan. 3, many of them warmed-over versions of measures that didn't make it out of the Legislature or died on the governor's desk in previous years.

And the Legislature' s restive Republicans are promising to be more united and assertive in 2007, complaining that their views got short shrift in deals reached in 2006 by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democratic-dominate d Legislature on infrastructure bonds and several other measures.

That could make it tougher to put together the two-thirds majorities needed to approve a new state budget and certain other bills.

The new Assembly minority leader, Mike Villines, R-Clovis, says Republicans don't intend to "just come in and be obstructionists. " But he says his caucus wants to have influence in drafting simple-majority- vote bills or it may not provide the votes needed to put together two-thirds majorities.

"You can't come to us when you only need six (votes to reach two-thirds majorities), " he said in an interview. "You've got to include us in the whole debate, all the time throughout the year."

Villines was elected to head the Assembly's 32 Republicans following the November election in a coup that toppled the house's GOP leader of seven months, George Plescia of La Jolla. Several Republicans indicated later that they wanted a tougher leader than the amiable Plescia, whom Schwarzenegger' s chief of staff likened to a startled deer.

Another low-key GOP leader, Senate Minority Leader Dick Ackerman, R-Tustin, survived a coup attempt in his caucus by a single vote on Dec. 4 when lawmakers met to begin organizing for 2007.

One issue that could very easily trigger partisan fighting is redistricting, the politically charged process of drawing new legislative and congressional districts to reflect population changes revealed by a new census.

Schwarzenegger is again pushing legislation that would take those duties away from lawmakers and turn them over to a commission, a change favored by Republicans.

But some Democratic lawmakers seem to be less enthusiastic about giving up their redistricting powers, although their leaders have promised to try to move legislation that would do that.

Democrats could be in total control of redistricting, a process that can determine which party dominates the Legislature and the House of Representatives, if they maintain their majorities in the Legislature and voters pick a Democrat as governor in 2010.

"I don't know the last time I talked to a constituent who said you have to do something about redistricting, " Núñez said at a recent news conference. "But I made a commitment (to try to reach a deal)."

Lawmakers have discussed a possible compromise that would link, at least informally, creation of a redistricting commission with a measure that would modify lawmakers' term limits, perhaps by allowing them to serve up to 12 years in one house instead of the current six years in the Assembly and eight in the Senate.

Here are some of the other major issues that are likely to dominate debate in 2007:

BUDGET - The state continues to struggle with budget deficits. The Legislature' s budget analyst, Elizabeth Hill, predicts the gap between anticipated revenue and projected spending will be $5.5 billion in the fiscal year that starts July 1. But lawmakers can cover most of that hole with $3.1 billion from a larger-than- expected surplus from the current fiscal year, Hill says.

CANCER VIRUS - Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, has introduced a bill calling for all girls entering sixth grade to be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus, which is transmitted by sexual contact and can cause cervical cancer. The bill is already drawing opposition from conservatives, although it allows parents to opt out of the requirement.

DRIVERS' LICENSES - Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, will make his ninth attempt to enact legislation that would enable illegal immigrants to get California drivers' licenses. This time he may have some leverage with Schwarzenegger, who has vetoed three of Cedillo's previous attempts. The governor needs legislation to authorize the Department of Motor Vehicles to meet tighter federal security requirements for all drivers' licenses, and Cedillo's legislation includes that language.

EDUCATION - A school performance review requested by Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders is due out early in 2007 and is expected to recommend sweeping changes in school funding, teacher training and governance.

FLOOD BILLS - A group of Democratic legislators will try again to push through a series of flood control bills, including a measure to make cities and counties liable for property damage if they approve new developments in flood-prone areas. Lawmakers will also be making some early decisions on how to spend $42.7 billion in bonds approved by voters last November, including $4.1 billion in flood control bonds.

GAY MARRIAGE - Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation in 2005 that would have recognized gay marriages. The author, Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, has reintroduced the bill, hoping that Schwarzenegger will reconsider this time around. A related bill by Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, would allow young, unmarried, heterosexual couples to register as domestic partners.

HEALTH CARE - Despite the state's budget woes, Schwarzenegger and the Legislature' s leaders are talking about putting together legislation to cover many, if not all, of the estimated 6 million Californians without health insurance. That legislation is likely to include a mandate requiring employers to help pay for health coverage for their workers, even though Schwarzenegger supported a successful effort by business groups in 2004 to overturn such a law. Both Núñez and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, have plans that include employer mandates, and the governor's health and human services secretary, Kim Belshe, says Schwarzenegger has not ruled out some form of employer mandate.

INDIAN GAMBLING - A battle between a group of Indian tribes and labor unions is likely to flare up again in 2007 over gambling compacts that Schwarzenegger signed with the tribes. The unions complained that the agreements, which would allow the tribes' casinos to have another 23,000 slot machines, would make it harder for casino workers to organize. Bills approving those compact bogged down in the Legislature in 2006.

MINIMUM WAGE - Schwarzenegger signed legislation in 2006 that will raise the minimum wage from $6.75 to $7.50 an hour in 2007 and to $8 in 2008. But the bill lacked the automatic annual inflation adjustments in the wage that Democrats also sought. Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, D-Compton, has introduced a bill that would require those increases, starting in 2009.

PRISONS- Lawmakers are under pressure from federal courts to ease overcrowding and improve health care in California's prisons. Failure to do so could result in court orders capping inmate populations, releasing some prisoners early and requiring construction of new medical facilities. Schwarzenegger has proposed an $11 billion prison building program to create additional space.

SMOKING - Sen. Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach, has introduced bills to ban smoking at state parks and state beaches and in cars carrying children. Similar measures by other authors were defeated in recent years.

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