SACRAMENTO (AP) - The California Legislature on Tuesday sought to give the nation’s most populous state a greater voice in the race for the White House by moving the state’s presidential primary from June to February.

The Assembly approved the bill 46-28, along party lines, and sent it to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has said he supports the concept.

The effort to move the primary has been cast by its supporters as an attempt to force presidential candidates to campaign in California, rather than merely coming to the state to raise money.

“We need to do this because as long as I can remember California is basically an ATM for presidential candidates,” Assembly Charles M. Calderon, D-Whittier, said during the Assembly debate.

“California is an important state in this union, and we need to be involved in who the next president of the United States is.”

The assemblyman’s brother, Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Monterey Park, wrote the early primary bill. The Senate passed the bill last month on a 31-5 vote.

Opponents said moving the primary to February is merely a smoke screen for the personal agendas of lawmakers who want to extend their terms. A proposed measure that would go on a February ballot would allow legislators to serve longer in their respective houses.

“It’s about termed-out legislators getting one more bite at the apple to extend their time here,” said Assemblyman Doug La Malfa, R-Willows.

Republicans, who are in the minority in the 80-seat chamber, opposed the measure because it does not guarantee funding for counties that would administer the additional election. A third election is expected to cost California taxpayers an additional $60 million to $90 million.

They tried to amend the bill to require reimbursement from the state, but the effort failed.

Even with the state’s presidential primary in February, elections for state and congressional candidates would continue to be held in June, with the general election in November.

Schwarzenegger, who is supportive of an early presidential primary, is waiting to see the final bill before deciding whether to sign it, his spokesman said.

“He supports moving the California primary up so we can be more relevant in the presidential primary,” Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said before Tuesday’s vote. “As it stands now, California is an afterthought. They come here just for our money.”

Feb. 5 is shaping into a new “Super Tuesday,” with more than a dozen states considering moving their primaries to that day. Primaries in New Hampshire and South Carolina, as well as caucuses in Iowa and Nevada are scheduled before Feb. 5.

Political analysts differ over how California’s early presidential primary might affect the 2008 campaign.

The state’s influence could be diluted with so many other states considering moving their primaries to February. But the election also could lure candidates who want to win the state with the greatest number of electoral votes, giving them a strategic advantage to secure their party’s nomination.

The one thing that seems certain is that candidates now will have to spend a lot more money much earlier than they had anticipated. California’s sheer size requires candidates to reach voters by television, costing millions of dollars.

“It will cause these campaign operatives a lot of heartburn when California moves to the fifth because they are going to have to rethink their whole strategy for the election,” said Tim Storey, an elections analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures. “You can’t ignore California. It really does change the dynamics.”

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez said the earlier primary will give California a more prominent platform among the candidates.

“Gone will be the days when California voters are sidelined,” said Nunez, D-Los Angeles. “Californians will have the opportunity to look at the candidates square in the eye and say, ‘Where do you stand on the issues that I, as a voter, care about?’”

The leading candidates already have begun campaigning in California, in a seemingly constant parade over the past two weeks.

Democratic candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards have campaigned in Los Angeles, Fresno and Berkeley. Republicans Rudy Giuliani and John McCain have appeared alongside Schwarzenegger.

Democratic supporters of the bill noted that California receives just 79 cents from the federal government for every dollar it contributes in taxes. That equation could change if the state had a larger role in selecting the president, they said.

“Just the talk of changing the date of the primary has made a big difference,” Assemblywoman Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, said before Tuesday’s vote. “They were always in Los Angeles, but only the rich had an opportunity to see them at all because of fundraisers.”

California has tried earlier primaries before, but each time _ in 1996, 2000 and 2004 _ the entire election was moved to March. The state did not hold three elections in those years.

A February election next year also could benefit lawmakers, most notably legislative leaders Nunez and state Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland.

A proposed ballot initiative would enable lawmakers who are now scheduled to be termed out next year to run for one more four-year term in the Senate and up to three additional two-year terms in the Assembly.

If voters approve a modification of the state’s term-limit law next February, current lawmakers would be able to run again for their seats in June’s regularly scheduled primary.

Schwarzenegger also wants a measure on the February ballot taking away the Legislature’s power to draw legislative and congressional districts.

Nunez denied any self interest in pushing for an earlier presidential primary election that also would include the ballot measure seeking to extend his own term as speaker.

He said the primary election for legislative and congressional offices would remain in June to give voters certainty about elections that happen every two years.

“We did not want to use this experiment to get California the early presidential (primary) mixed up with the ability to increase voter turnout and have consistent voter turnout in June and then November,” Nunez said.

___

On the Net:

Read the bill SB 113 at http://www.sen.ca.gov