We’re going to be making a series of enhancements to the FlashReport website over the coming weeks, some of which will be "behind the scenes" so will not be immediately obvious to site visitors, others will be readily apparent. The first enhancement with significant impact on you is the addition of a new feature courtesy of Snap.Com — this is a feature that activates when you move your curser over any link (to another website) on the FlashReport’s main news page or this blog page. When the curser is over the link, a small window will pop up that actually shows you a mini-image of the site to which the link is connected. You can see what I mean in the graphic image to the right. To click through to the link, you just click on it as usual. But now you get a "snapshot" of what’s "ahead" to help you decide if you really want to go there. Remember, this feature is set up only for links that are not to other areas of the FlashReport website. … Read More

When the dust settled on the current budget bill that was hastily passed out of the State Assembly, it turns out that there are some significant policy issues that have arisen… Senator Dave Cogdill has taken a moment to articulate what some of those issues happen to be in this submission… In the Legislature, when considering public safety matters, we used to debate whether or not to increase or reduce sentences, whether or not to increase or decrease penalties. It’s a constant back and forth between those of us who want to be tough on crime and criminals and those who would like to see mandates on criminals eased up. I proudly belong to the former group. There is no logic behind fighting crime by relaxing laws. However, it is part of the liberal toolbox – right up there with lowering classroom standards in order to make sure everybody passes.… Read More

Tom Hiltachk could not have been surprised with the shrieks coming from the California political ruling class,when he filed his Electoral College reform Initiative last week. The initiative would eliminate the "winner take all" rule that gives all 55 California electoral votes to the winner.

Republicans and democrats both eliminated the winner take all rule for Presidential Primaries. Reasoning that to have a powerful campaign in California you needed retail politics in each congressional district. Since 1992, California has not had a serious Presidential campaign. We were ignored. All that voters for both parties were supposed to do was to give money to influence Iowa and Ohio.

California for Equal Representations (CER) will blow upthe rules. Candidates who want California electoral votes will have to campaign in all 53 congressional districts. California will once again become the battleground state, as it has been since Lincoln was elected in 1860.

Hiltachk typically is closed mouth. He won’t divulge his donors or his strategies or who he is working for. Still, it is now public knowledge that the Governor’s chief… Read More

SENATE GOP BUDGET WEBSITE State Senate Republicans have launched a new website on the California State Budget which is a great resource for obtaining information on where Senate Republican are coming from in terms of what they feel need to be compents of a fiscally prudent budget. The site provides the latest media statements from Senate Republican leadership, compiles statements and opinion pieces from Senate Republicans, gives a clear perspective of what has happened to date, and, as I said, lays out policy objectives. We’ll continue on this site to provide comprehensive coverage of the budget debate, and will alert FR readers to new and interesting content over on the Senate Republicans’ Budget site — but you should definately check it out here. (h/t to Matt Ross in Senator Ackerman’s office) WHERE ARE OUR LEGISLATORS? Today marks yet another day that California does not have… Read More

Yesterday, Congressman John Campbell blogged (see a few posts below this one) about his questioning of an egregious earmark on the floor of Congress. The pork project was called the "Paint Shield for Protecting People from Microbial Threats."

This is such a "must watch" for FR readers that I have put the video right here (courtesy of our friends at Club for Growth). Take a few minutes now, or at some point, and watch this.

Congressman Campbell lays out a succinct 5 point criteria for a credible earmark. Every Member of Congress should ask these questions before submitting ANY earmark requests. Appropriations Committee Members should be asking these questions before approving any requests, and on the floor, all Members of Congress must insist on an affirmative answer to all 5 points.

If an earmark cannot pass these 5 criteria, it is EGREGIOUS and should be rejected.… Read More

SENATE GOP BUDGET WEBSITE State Senate Republicans have launched a new website on the California State Budget which is a great resource for obtaining information on where Senate Republican are coming from in terms of what they feel need to be compents of a fiscally prudent budget. The site provides the latest media statements from Senate Republican leadership, compiles statements and opinion pieces from Senate Republicans, gives a clear perspective of what has happened to date, and, as I said, lays out policy objectives. We’ll continue on this site to provide comprehensive coverage of the budget debate, and will alert FR readers to new and interesting content over on the Senate Republicans’ Budget site — but you should definately check it out here. (h/t to Matt Ross in Senator Ackerman’s office) WHERE ARE OUR LEGISLATORS? Today marks yet another day that California does not have… Read More

Senate Pro Tem Don Perata just annnounced that he would discontinue "work on all bills until the Senate Republicans vote for the budget."

Just like Brer Rabbit said; "Don’t throw me in that briar patch."

Obviously Don was not thinking. The one thing Republicans in the Senate and Assembly think about 24 hours a day, seven days a week is how to stop bill in the Legislature. With the Democrat majority, no good Republican ideas pass, so the only bills that get out are bad Democrat ideas, or worthless Republican ideas. Threatening to kill all the bills in the Legislature unless the Republicans vote for the budget guarantees that Republicans won’t vote for the budget. It is the best of both worlds for Republicans, it stops an unbalanced budget from being enacted, and stops the latest idea for big government by the Democrats from ever becoming law.

He must be joking, foolish, or very cunning, trying to embarass Republicans with this threat. The only people he will hurt are… Read More

This just in from Bill Leonard: I had an excellent discussion with Finance Director Mike Genest yesterday. Among things I learned is there is a difference between the way the Department of Finance and the LAO report their Budget numbers, although they arrive at the same conclusions. On July 24, Legislative Analyst Liz Hill summarized the situation this way: “Revenues and Expenditures. The budget assumes the state will start 2007-08 with a fund balance of $4.8 billion. It projects $102.3 billion in budget-year revenues, an increase of 6.5 percent from 2006-07. The budget authorizes expenditures of $103 billion, an increase of 1.3 percent from 2006-07. The… Read More