This last few weeks, the mostly closely guarded piece of information in state government politics was precisely where Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez went vacationing with his family in Europe. Because I couldn’t identify precisely where on the "Continent" the Nunez family went, I reached out and used a photo of the Eiffel Tower as being symbolic of Europe.

Well, we have learned from a very reliable source that while Californian has had no budget, Fabian and family have been relaxing in Greece! So when I mentioned that he was likely eating a croissant, it was actually probably some Souvlaki.

So, we now publish a photo of the ruins of the Greek Parthenon, that sits on the Acropolis, high above… Read More

OK, so I guess some legislators are taking their responsibilities more seriously than others. As I have opined, I think that in return for a full-time salary, state legislators should be at work, IN THE CAPITOL, until there is a budget. I know from talking to them earlier today that State Senator Dick Ackerman and Assemblyman Van Tran are in the building. And I just got off of the phone with my own Assemblyman, Chuck DeVore, who is also in the Capitol. As a matter of fact, DeVore has blogged about whom he has seen (and mostly hasn’t seen up there). I guess he just missed Senator Tom McClintock, who was also in his office.

It would be great if all of our legislators would cut short their time in their districts, and return to the State Capitol and work on producing a new budget document that will pass muster with both chambers. … Read More

Today, Democrat Senate President Don Perata damaged his own (waning) credibility with the Capitol Press Corps by, frankly, saying something that simply was untrue. He held a press conference and told assembled reporters that Republican Senators want to rewrite California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) regulations. Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman was forced to respond and set the record straight…

… Read More

Fresh from his lengthy vacation in Greece, Fabian Nunez has sent a letter to Dick Ackerman where he apparently equates a call for his return to the Capitol to being "personally maligned" — nice.

Anyway, Nunez in an effort to extend the budget kabuki dance further throws out that if budget negotiations are reopened, he and his Democrat colleagues will bloat the budget further with even more deficit spending. Anyways, you can read Nunez’ letter which is attached. Below is a response that Senate Republican Leader sent back to the Speaker just now:

Look for more on this in the MSM tomorrow — but it appears that the League of Cities and the Redevelopment Industry is shifting strategies.

A coalition of organizations including the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, the California Farm Bureau Federation, and the California Alliance to Protect Private Property Rights has collected the necessary financial resources to gather signatures to really end the ability of governments to engage in eminent domain abuses, providing the real protections that ALL private property owners (individuals, businesses, places of worship, etc.) should have in place. Get more info on this important measure here.

The League of Cities and the redevelopment industry have been working overtime to try and get the state legislature to place on the ballot a faux (fake) reform measure that provides only a shadow of the protections provided by the measure now seeking qualification via signature.

So now we hear that the League of Cities is also going to go to the ballot with their vastly inferior measure. As a matter of fact, passing their measure would be worse than… Read More

You would have thought that Gov. Romney was in San Diego today when he made clear his position on illegal immigration–no front -of-the-line pass to for illegals! He was actually in Eastern Iowa.

ROMNEY: "And with regards to illegal immigration, I want to secure our border, I want to have an employment verification system to know who’s here legally and not, and sanction employers that hire people that are illegal once that system is in place, and finally for those that have come here illegally – welcome them to get in line for permanent residency or citizenship, but in line with everybody else. No special pathway for those who come here illegally." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSrazudhdYE

Why is it so hard for other candidates to say these words?… Read More

GOVERNOR: CALL THE LEGISLATORS BACK TO SACRAMENTO Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger should use his powers to call an immeidate, emergency session of the state legislature to deal with the fact that we have no state budget. It is pretty outrageous that we have 120 legislators that are paid a full-time wage and yet, without a deal worked out on the state’s annual spending plan, and the constitutional deadline for passing a budget now over a month behind us, our legislators are not even in the Capitol? That is outrageous. FR readers should call their Senator and Assemblymembers, and urge them to go back to Sacramento, and to each individually call for the legislature to return to session.

BILL LEONARD ON THE BUDGET I was emailing with State Board of Equalization Member Bill Leonard, an acknowledged expert on state finances and the budget — he shared these sobering thoughts with me (and said I could pass them along to you):… Read More

Not only have Democrats opposed GOP efforts during this current budget negotiation process to ensure that vital services are still provided for Medi-Cal recipients, but apparently Democrats have amassed quite a record of opposing Republican efforts to make sure that honest policy disagreements in a budget negotiation that (like with this year) can become protracted, do NOT put Medi-Cal recipients at risk:

“As we seek further negotiations with Legislative leaders, Senate Republicans want to make sure that hospitals and nursing homes receive the necessary funding to keep their doors open,” said Senator Dick Ackerman (R-Irvine). “Health care for those in need should not be interrupted while the Legislature works towards a balanced budget.”

Check out all of the details on the strong GOP track record to avoid this situation here.

Democrats are more interested in "using" these folks as a tool to pressure legislators to pass a big, fat budget. Critical reforms are needed for this year’s budget, and we… Read More