This November California voters will be faced with a wide array of ballot measures, mostly looking for ways to raise taxes or borrow money. What does this tell you? It tells you that the appetite for state government SPENDING is voracious. These measures all come at voters during a time when an unprecedented amount of taxpayer funds are already being sent to Sacramento. The current state budget is well over a HUNDRED BILLION dollars, and this represents sharp increases of funds in the state budget over recent years. It is important for every FlashReport reader to join together in sending an important message to liberal politicians in Sacramento, and to all of the special interest groups that would try to get you to vote to raise your own taxes or vote to put your children in debt — NO. The cold, hard reality is that California already has the financial resources to more that adequate invest in our state’s infrastructure. All of the Governor’s visions for a California that builds new facilities, roads, and infrastructure can already take place. The reality is that the liberal Democrats in Sacramento don’t want to face the idea… Read More

This November California voters will be faced with a wide array of ballot measures, mostly looking for ways to raise taxes or borrow money. What does this tell you? It tells you that the appetite for state government SPENDING is voracious. These measures all come at voters during a time when an unprecedented amount of taxpayer funds are already being sent to Sacramento. The current state budget is well over a HUNDRED BILLION dollars, and this represents sharp increases of funds in the state budget over recent years. It is important for every FlashReport reader to join together in sending an important message to liberal politicians in Sacramento, and to all of the special interest groups that would try to get you to vote to raise your own taxes or vote to put your children in debt — NO. The cold, hard reality is that California already has the financial resources to more that adequate invest in our state’s infrastructure. All of the Governor’s visions for a California that builds new facilities, roads, and infrastructure can already take place. The reality is that the liberal Democrats in Sacramento don’t want to face the idea… Read More

Six years, a group of conservative Californians who were concerned about the future of the Golden State came together and formed the Family Action Political Action Committee. Centered in Orange County, the Family Action PAC, over three election cycles of active giving, has combined two very important components which have allowed them to maximize their impact — a sharp focus on supporting those candidates who are fiscally and socially conservative (you can read their mission statement here) combined with a politically sophisticated process of giving in order to make sure that their dollars are going to candidates in primary and general elections who have a higher probability of success. The PAC has also been an early giver of funds in some instances, helping conservative candidates to gain credibility as they gear up a campaign. I’ve been closely associated with many of the leaders of the Family Action PAC for many years (actually, for a lot longer than the PAC has been around) and have been blessed to attend a number of their events. Last… Read More

Do you have a spare dollar? Would you like to purchase your very own television station? Well, based on legislation that is sitting on Governor Schwarzenegger’s desk right now (Assembly Bill 523), the Coast Community College District Board of Trustees can literally sell this significant public asset for "less than market value" (this is pulled directly from the language of the bill). Current state law requires that if the district wants to sell off an asset, the must sell it to the highest bidder. This is to make sure that there are no gifts of public funds, and that taxpayers are always be well represented when such sales occur. I’ve already written quite a bit about this legislation, which you can read here. To sum up the situation in one paragraph: Coast Community College District owns the KOCE Public Television Station. Annually, the station is losing… Read More

INTRODUCING TED GAINES! One of today’s exclusive FR column comes to you from future Assemblyman Ted Gaines of Roseville, in Placer County. Gaines looks to be a rising star who will bring solid conservative leadership to our Assembly Caucus when he arrives in December. If you blinked at all over the last two years, you probably missed the race to replace termed out Republican Assemblyman Tim Leslie in the 4th AD. That’s because for the last two years, conservative Placer County Supervisor Ted Gaines has been working tirelessly on his campaign for the Assembly. That hard work paid off, as Ted earned the endorsements of local Republican leaders like Congressman John Doolittle, Senator Dave Cox, former Senator Rico Oller, and incumbent Assemblyman Leslie, as well as the CRA, YRFC, and the local central committees in the district. As a result, Ted received a whopping 80.6% of the vote in the Republican primary this… Read More

Lots of Things: Last week, I went over the 4 "big things" that will be addressed in Congress this month. This week, I’ll give you a brief rundown on "lots of things" both large and small that have been going on here in Washington during an active period: Border Fence: Yesterday, the House passed a bill to construct 700 miles of new fencing along the border with Mexico, by a vote of 283-138. This bill, which I cosponsored, is the first in a series of proposals the House will take up this as part of a substantial border security package. Now we will see if this approach is acceptable to the Senate and the president. … Read More

There’s plenty not to like in the largest slate of bond measures in the history of the state, coming this November to a ballot near you, with a total price tag of $37 billion. That’s a done deal whether we like it or not.

Knowing this was coming, one GOP state senator, Bob Dutton of Rancho Cucamonga, went into legislative negotiations over the bonds knowing he would take some flak for voting for them. He did so in hopes of getting some provisions to make the bonds more favorable to taxpayers should they pass. In fact, when the process started, the bonds were all lumped together, which would have forced the voters to vote for something like $2.8 billion for subsidized housing in order to get something they actuallywant, like transportation ($19.9 billion). In the end, after the negotiations, the bonds were split into four different questions, so voters could say "yes" to roads (1B) and "no" to subsidized housing (1C).

I say better to let Dutton and a few other Republican leaders negotiate a few taxpayer… Read More

INTRODUCING TED GAINES! One of today’s exclusive FR column comes to you from future Assemblyman Ted Gaines of Roseville, in Placer County. Gaines looks to be a rising star who will bring solid conservative leadership to our Assembly Caucus when he arrives in December. If you blinked at all over the last two years, you probably missed the race to replace termed out Republican Assemblyman Tim Leslie in the 4th AD. That’s because for the last two years, conservative Placer County Supervisor Ted Gaines has been working tirelessly on his campaign for the Assembly. That hard work paid off, as Ted earned the endorsements of local Republican leaders like Congressman John Doolittle, Senator Dave Cox, former Senator Rico Oller, and incumbent Assemblyman Leslie, as well as the CRA, YRFC, and the local central committees in the district. As a result, Ted received a whopping 80.6% of the vote in the Republican primary this… Read More