*UPDATE: 4:57: To make it abundantly clear, Dutton has the signatures of all of his colleagues except one who is out of town who has pledged his support over the phone. I wanted to clarify so that everyone understands what I have been told.*

I just got off of the phone with State Senator Bob Dutton who confirmed for me that he will be the next Senate Republican Leader, having obtained the unanimous support of members the Senate Caucus.

While the details of the transition are not yet ironed out, our sources say that Dutton is not likely to take over the Senate GOP’s top spot at least until after the 2010-2011 budget is adopted this Summer.

The formal vote for Dutton by his colleagues could happen at any time.

This is great news as Dutton is a solid conservative who will provide strong leadership for his caucus. Dutton has been the point Republican on many budget negotiations and has been the lead Senate GOP critic of AB 32.

Congratulations Senate Republican Leader-Elect (almost) Dutton!… Read More

In response to the announcement from Senator Bob Dutton that he has secured commitments from his colleagues to be the next Senate Republican Leader, the current Leader, Dennis Hollingsworth, provided the FlashReport with this statement:

"In order to ensure an orderly succession of leadership, it is necessary that our caucus be thinking about a new leader. I am happy that Senator Dutton appears to have the support of the caucus to be the next leader. With that in mind, we will hold an election and provide for a smooth transition later this year."… Read More

Yesterday conservative GOP Assembly candidate Paul Hegyi emailed his supporters with the news that he would be suspending his campaign for the GOP nomination for the State Assembly in the Central Valley’s ___ Assembly District. Last year, Hegyi came in second to former San Jouquin County Supervisor Jack Sieglock, who went on to (barely, like by around 500 votes) lose to Democrat Alyson Huber, resulting in an unfortunate and unexpected Dem pickup in the Assembly. Last year Hegyi and Sieglock both announced that they would again be seeking the GOP nomination in AD __, setting the scene for a showdown this June — with the winner going up against Huber.… Read More

One of our loyal FlashReport Blog readers is apparently Ana Matosantos, Governor Schwarzenegger’s Director of Finance (who has a featured column on our main page today). After perusing the blog, she sent this submission over for your reading pleasure… Setting the Record Straight Ana Matosantos – Director of Finance In the debate over California’s spending on prison versus higher education, the following facts may be helpful.… Read More

Text of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s State of the State Speech Prepared text of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s State of the State address:

I want to begin with a true story from which we can draw a worthwhile lesson.

As you might guess, the Schwarzenegger household is something of a menagerie.

An Austrian bodybuilder, a TV journalist, four children, a dog, the normal goldfish and hamsters and so forth — and in recent years we added a miniature pony and a pot-bellied pig.

It’s not unusual for me to look up from working on the budget or something to find a pig and a pony standing there staring at me.

Now, the dog’s food, which we keep in a canister with a screw-on lid, sits on the top of the dog’s kennel.

The pony has learned to knock the canister off the top of the kennel, and then he and the pig wedge it into the corner.

There’s this ridge on the lid… Read More

The first place anyone heard there was a new successor GOP Senate Leader was on our Twitter feed. If you aren't following us, you're missing out on lots of tidbits and insights!

If you're on Twitter, search for FlashReport!… Read More

I just got off of a brief appearance on KQED’s California Report coverage of the State of the State Address. I followed Senate President Darrell Steinberg. Here’s what I had to say… (I’m being interview by KQED’s Capitol man in the building, the irrepressible John Myers… I also talk briefly about the Anthony Adams retirement.

… Read More

State Senator Mark Wyland has just sent a thoughtful and important letter to the Governor and legislative leaders calling for a halt to all of the non-essential gyrations of the state legislature, and for a razor-sharp focus on job creation.

I’ve included the text of the Senator’s letter below. Governor Schwarzenegger would do well to read this, and include this idea in his State of the State Address tomorrow. In fact, I feel comfortable saying that Senator Wyland wouldn’t mind a bit if the Governor embraced this idea and took ownership of it!

The reality is that our fiscal problems are so bad that all of the non-essential work of the legislature during this time amounts to moving deck-chairs around the Titanic. How about focusing on the big hole caused by the iceberg?

Dear Governor and Legislative Leaders … Read More