Anaheim Mayor and former Speaker of the State Assembly Curt Pringle was just appointed by the Governor to the Public Employee Post-Employment Benefits Commission. He will serve with former UC Regents Chairman Gerry Parsky among others to find solutions to unfunded benefits for public employees.

You may recall reading that Mayor Pringle was also recently appointed by the Governor to the CA High Speed Rail Authority.

It’s not hard to figure out why the Governor would tap Mayor Pringle twice in as many weeks to serve on important statewide commissions–Pringle is a natural leader and a dynamic problem solver. I like having Curt on my team no matter what the effort.

But these two appointments are helpful in proving a point of mine, that there is a major lack of leaders in government and politics today. Perhaps it has always been that way, but among the thousands and… Read More

The Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill today released her analysis of the governor’s proposed budget for 2007-08. What’s the bottom line on the budget proposal, from her point of view? Hill says that the budget result in a $726 million deficit as opposed to the Administration’s projection of a $2.1 billion reserve.

Here are a few noteworthy excerpts from the analysis’ highlights. All of the documents can be accessed here.

* Based on our projections, we estimate that the Governor’s budget plan would result in 2007-08 expenditures exceeding revenues by $2.6billion. This would leave the state with a $726million year-end deficit, compared to the Governor’s January 10th estimate of a $2.1billion positive reserve.

* In addition, the… Read More

Bills, bills, bills:

There are 435 members of the House of Representatives. In the 109th Congress, these members introduced 6,438 bills. Only 294 of them passed in the House, the Senate, and were signed into law by the president. That is less the one bill per member of Congress. So, suffice it to say, we do not measure ourselves by how many bills pass with one’s name on them. That would be a small number unless you are a committee chairman

But, we still need to try. Over the next two weeks, I will give you a list of the things I am working on. In some cases, I am the "lead" sponsor of the bill. In other cases, I am a "co-sponsor" of the bill. In all cases, these are issues in which I am engaged.

Some of these bills do not have a snowball’s chance in Hades of becoming law in this Congress for various factors. These range from the fact that Democrats are in control to that the particular measure is a big idea which will take years to cultivate. I often point out the efforts of my predecessor, Christopher Cox, to end the death tax. He began this quest in 1988. Now, 20 years later we have gotten close, but the… Read More

That’s right! Lots of crazy uncle (nephew) jokes are flooding through my head as I read the story in the AV Press about McCarthy’s visit to the Mojave Air and Space Port. (That’s not a joke either, there is one)

McCarthy represents parts of LA County, Kern and San Luis Obispo counties. McCarthy mentioned that basement thing at the end of the visit. Check out the article hereand you will actually see why McCarthy made it to Congress, very articulate and knowledgeable about the issues. Living in Thomas’s basement notwithstanding.… Read More

The move by the Senate to move the California presidential primary to February is set to come before the Assembly this week. The reason for the change, according to rumors in the Capitol, is to put a term limit change on the ballot before the filing period for the legislative races in 2008. If term limits are changed before the filing period, existing termed out legislators will be able to extend their terms beyond 2008.

Here is the problem.

The 2008 filing period begins right around the first week of February. Tons of people are running for the Senate and Assembly seats of the termed out members. People are announcing campaigns, raising money, actively seeking to fill the offices. Lobbyists are evaluating these candidates, and will have to make decisions soon about who to back.

So what happens if terms limits are extended? Lots of candidates, expecting to succeed the current office holders will have raised lots of money and campaign support for the offices that the incumbents will run to keep. Will they be challenged by people who have already spent a year of their lives, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, actively sought local… Read More

The move by the Senate to move the California presidential primary to February is set to come before the Assembly this week. The reason for the change, according to rumors in the Capitol, is to put a term limit change on the ballot before the filing period for the legislative races in 2008. If term limits are changed before the filing period, existing termed out legislators will be able to extend their terms beyond 2008.

Here is the problem.

The 2008 filing period begins right around the first week of February. Tons of people are running for the Senate and Assembly seats of the termed out members. People are announcing campaigns, raising money, actively seeking to fill the offices. Lobbyists are evaluating these candidates, and will have to make decisions soon about who to back.

**There is more – click the link**

View Full Commentary… Read More

When I heard that conservative Assemblyman Todd Spitzer had teamed up on legislation with ultra-liberal State Senator Carol Migden, I had to inquire… And this is what Todd Spitzer had to say:

When a democrat and a republican partner up on a legislative idea it usually turns heads for Capitol watchers. But when a liberal San Francisco Democrat pairs up with an Orange County Republican conservative observers naturally ask the question: how and why? I appreciate the FlashReport asking. How Carol Migden and I came together on SB 177 which we announced last week at a join press conference was actually simple happenstance and quite accidental. SB 177 requires first time driving under the influence (DUI) offenders to have an Interlock Ignition Device (IID) installed in their… Read More

John Fund over at the Wall Street Journal had this interesting take-away from the recent California GOP confab:

Arnold Versus the Republicans

Allies of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger scored an important victory earlier this month by shutting down attempts by conservative delegates to the GOP State Convention in Sacramento to denounce his proposed $12 billion universal health care plan.

The governor avoided the embarrassment of having his own party label his plan a "tax hike" that Republicans should actively fight to defeat or overturn. But it took some awkward parliamentary footwork for the governor to avoid the rebuke and his narrow escape may only set the… Read More