The annual Reagan Golf Classic and dinner to benefit sailors serving aboard the USS Ronald Reagan, the San Diego Navy League, and the San Diego Armed Services YMCA, will be held September 9 and 10th, The dinner will be held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds starting a 6:00 pm on Sunday the 9th, and will feature actor Gary Sinise’s band! The Golf Classic will start with lunch at 11:00 am the next day and begin at 12:30 pm at the Coronado Municipal Golf Course. Two winners will receive an all expense paid trip to compete in the 2008 Mercedes-Benz National Championship in Kaanapali, Maui. Hosts are Michael Reagan and Mercedes-Benz of San Diego. Details: 800-659-6145.… Read More

For those of you who know John Myers of KQED, if you are happy (liberals) that I have to pospone my state budget wrap up piece until tomorrow, blame John. If you are unhappy to have to wait (normal people), you can also blame John. I had an opportunity to spend an hour on KQED radio this morning along with Myers, Senate President Don Pereta, Senate GOP Leader Dick Ackerman, and Steve Mavigilio, Deputy Chief of Staff to Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez.

If you have some time to kill you can listen to the recording of the show here (Myers counsels that the program may not appear until this afternoon).

Look for my budget wrap-up tomorrow morning.… Read More

Well, I have some bad news and some good news this morning for FlashReport readers. The bad news is that it would appear that we are getting a lot closer to a budget deal (this is bad news because it will not come with a reopening of the Assembly-passed document that, at well over a hundred billion dollars, represents a fat, bloated state bureaucracy in serious need of downsizing and privatization). The good news is that Senate Republicans continue to negotiate from a position of strength to make the proposed budget better than it is right now. I spoke this morning with Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman, who said that his caucus will meet again this morning at 10 a.m. to brief and prepare for another round of negotiations. Ackerman shared with me that the main area of discussion is still around the CEQA issue. For those who are catching up to this budget-impasse mid-game, this has to do with the fact that last year Democrats passed and the Governor signed a bill that requires a reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases. That said, while the law was passed that sets target goals, the implementing regulations to get there have not been put in… Read More

Some may say the Budget vice-chair’s take is cautiously "post-partisan"-like, yet it is well-crafted and succinct. It all comes down to one sentence:

"While this is a budget that has been brought under control and reflects our list of priorities sought in the negotiations, it is still one that will result inevitably in a near $5 billion deficit next year, and as such it is not one I wanted to affix my name to for posterity." Here’s the full release:

Senator Hollingsworth Comments on the Passage of the State Budget

SACRAMENTO —- Senator Dennis Hollingsworth (R-Murrieta), Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, made the following the statement after the passage of the budget today by the Legislature:

“This is the first time in my seven year legislative career that I’ve seen Republicans achieve so many of our budget priorities. With further clarification of the Governor’s blue penciling the spending plan to a zero operating… Read More

The "Rule of 8" established by the Senate Republican Caucus says that until a majority of Senate Republicans are ready to sign off on a budget, no GOPers go up. Of course Senator Maldonado demonstrated his lack of solidarity by voting with all of the Democrats and against all of his Republican colleagues … so I guess its more of a "guideline" than a rule (h/t to Capt. Barbosa).

Well just a few minutes ago, on a breakdown that mirrored the leadership vote to retain Dick Ackerman as leader last year, Senate Republicans voted 8-7 to allow Ackerman (along with Maldonado) to go up on the budget.

The moving parts that allowed this to come about was a CEQA fix that includes not only development with a nexus to the transportation bonds but also to water bonds. I understand there may have been some tightening up of the nature of blue-line cuts being made by the Governor.

More analysis will be forthcoming … let’s see if this all translates to an actual budget on the Governor’s desk. I will close by saying that the efforts of Senate and Assembly Republicans have made some modest but important improvements to… Read More

Well, I have some bad news and some good news this morning for FlashReport readers. The bad news is that it would appear that we are getting a lot closer to a budget deal (this is bad news because it will not come with a reopening of the Assembly-passed document that, at well over a hundred billion dollars, represents a fat, bloated state bureaucracy in serious need of downsizing and privatization). The good news is that Senate Republicans continue to negotiate from a position of strength to make the proposed budget better than it is right now. I spoke this morning with Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman, who said that his caucus will meet again this morning at 10 a.m. to brief and prepare for another round of negotiations. Ackerman shared with me that the main area of discussion is still around the CEQA issue. For those who are catching up to this budget-impasse mid-game, this has to do with the fact that last year Democrats passed and the Governor signed a bill that requires a reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases. That said, while the law was passed that sets target goals, the implementing regulations to get there have not been put in… Read More

As indicated from my intel below, the State Senate met and did, in fact, pass out the state budget with 27 votes — the two GOPers being Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman and ersatz Republican Abel Maldonado.

First the CEQA reform I outlined below was voted on in the State Assembly, and then it came over to the State Senate where it, simultaneously to the budget, was passed on to the Governor.

Kudos to legislative Republicans for making a horrible budget slightly better. Californian’s need to elect more Republicans to the legislature if we want to see substantive structural reform of California state government.… Read More

With the passage of the budget, I have been on the phone quite a bit to Capitol denizens, and have heard a reoccuring rumor that Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman is on the way out.

Let me just put that rumor to bed. I’ve spoken with plenty of Senators, and while there is no love for this state budget (it’s too big, fat and bloated for any GOPer to love), I heard a lot of praise about Ackerman from his colleagues in terms of that way he worked with his caucus on the matter. Some of this praise came from Senators who did not support Ackerman’s bid to keep his leadership role last year.

Ackerman’s term in office ends next year, and one can presume that he will step aside early in order to allow for a transition — but I wouldn’t look for something to happen immediately. Certainly not before the end of this legislative session.… Read More