Longtime FR friend Chuck Bell is a highly-regarded attorney specializing in political law. He serves as Counsel to the California Republican Party and is currently serving as President of the Republican National Lawyers Association. Bell wanted to share the following with FR readers… Leading National Republican Lawyers Group Calls on HUD & DOJ to Investigate & Defund ACORN By Chuck Bell, Republican National Lawyers Association

On September 15, 2009, the Republican National Lawyers Association filed a formal complaint with the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the… Read More

This just in. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today sent a letter to Attorney General Jerry Brown calling for a "full investigation into ACORN’s activities in California." The letter is attached below.

Also, according to Jim Sills at sdrostra.com, Sean Hannity tonight will air another video investigation of ACORN out of San Diego. Read it here.

Developing.… Read More

Republican candidate for Governor Steve Poizner unveiled a new and innovative conservative tax policy yesterday at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. Commissioner Poizner is proposing across-the-board tax cuts for every Californian and an innovative jobs program that will get California’s economy back on track. One of the things I like best about Poizner’s plan is that he is proposing specific, detailed policies on how to cut taxes. I’ll let the numbers speak for themselves: When he is Governor, Poizner will enact the following tax cuts: · 10% cut in personal income tax rates · 10% cut in the state sales tax rate · 10% cut in the corporation tax rate · … Read More

Imagine that you are the proud owner of a cement manufacturing company. The government has just sent you an informative, yet unfortunate reminder that your production costs are about to be raised yet again.

As a person working in the cement industry, you probably followed the legislative proceedings regarding the Global Warming Solution Act of 2006 (Nunez), that was passed into California law. After three years, you receive this reminder from the government that, after three long years, their statewide crackdown on global warming is ready for action!

Well, not exactly.

Before things really get going, they’ll need just a little more of your money: 10 cents for every ton of cement that your plant produces, to be exact. This may not seem like much to an ordinary citizen, but you know full well that the average cement establishment, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Portland Cement Association, produces over 420,000 tons of cement yearly. This means that the $42,000 you could have spent to create another California job is now going to help pay for a new government position on the Air Resources Board.

And even that assessment is an… Read More

The Fresno Bee reported on Sept. 8 that Fresno County’s attempt to save money by releasing jail inmates early has been a failure. “At least one in five inmates released early from Fresno County Jail over the past year already has landed back behind bars for crimes including murder and assault,” the paper said.

From Sept. 2, 2008, through Aug. 20 of this year, 263 inmates were released from jail before they served their time, or while they were awaiting trial. Of those, 53 were later booked again on suspicion of other charges, including one who is suspected of participating in a double murder. The Bee said there may be more recidivists who were not counted, as its analysis included only those who were arrested within Fresno County.

Since the end of the period studied by the newspaper, the county has granted early release to another 206 inmates. While the county says inmates charged with violent crimes are not eligible for early release, the paper reported that one of the first inmates released was facing charges of attempted vehicle theft, and four months after his release he was arrested on suspicion of stealing a car at gunpoint and firing shots at a… Read More

STATE GOP TAPS FUNDRAISING VETERANS FOR KEY POSTS The California Republican Party (of which I am an elected officer) has made a couple of key announcements concerning its finance team for this election cycle which are worthy of mention.

The first is that Tony Russo, who served as Chairman of the Party’s Team California Program last cycle will reprise his role. This is a key position for the party, and under Russo’s leadership last cycle, working with the leadership of the State GOP, over $14 million was raised for party operations and candidate support.

The other announcement is that Jeff Miller (pictured) will be back with the CRP (having last been there when I was Executive Director, back in the 2000 cycle) – taking on the role of Finance Chairman. Miller has strong credentials and an energetic and focused fundraiser, and currently serves as a Co-Chairman of the Republican Governor’s Association.

In their capacities, both Russo and Miller will serve as… Read More

Like every aspect of California government, state parks are in financial troubled waters.

As an outdoors enthusiast I am saddened by this inevitable outcome. As a result, many parks will be boarded up or padlocked and left unavailable to Californians and tourists.

I believe we could remediate the problem through a variety of means, including partnering with private industry to offer more services; subletting to counties, cities or non-profits; allowing more volunteers to work at our parks, and charging more at the gate.

Environmentalists have other ideas. They are after the wallets of California car owners by way of a $15 per year hikeon vehicle registration fees.This is an unfair idea, as it’s not safe to assume that every car owner visits state parks. There’s no nexus to this scheme. I mean why must my mother, who owns a car strictly for driving to the store and church, subsidize my outdoor activities?

The environmentalist groups must collect more than a half million signatures to qualify the proposal for the November 2010 ballot. When signature… Read More

STATE GOP TAPS FUNDRAISING VETERANS FOR KEY POSTS The California Republican Party (of which I am an elected officer) has made a couple of key announcements concerning its finance team for this election cycle which are worthy of mention.

The first is that Tony Russo, who served as Chairman of the Party’s Team California Program last cycle will reprise his role. This is a key position for the party, and under Russo’s leadership last cycle, working with the leadership of the State GOP, over $14 million was raised for party operations and candidate support.

The other announcement is that Jeff Miller (pictured) will be back with the CRP (having last been there when I was Executive Director, back in the 2000 cycle) – taking on the role of Finance Chairman. Miller has strong credentials and an energetic and focused fundraiser, and currently serves as a Co-Chairman of the Republican Governor’s Association.… Read More