As of around 7am when I am writing this, the State Senate has finished approving a bunch of bills that make up the budget deal negotiated by the Governor and legislative leaders over the past weeks. The State Assembly has approved most of the package, but is still hung up on the issue of the repayment of money to education.

It’s been a marathon session — and not much sleep for a lot of people. I know that I was up to the wee hours and just caught brief cat naps here or there. This is probably a good chance to talk about how embarrassed I am for the process around this marathon latenight session. There was no need to hold these votes through the dead of the night, away from the watchful eyes of the public. Oh, and all of the lofty words from Republican legislators about "transparency" and insisting that all of the language of these many bills be in print for at least 24 hours (inadequate but better than nothing) were just rhetoric. Many of the bills voted on were voted on upon receipt of the final language. So the fair and open and transparent process was sacrificed on the alter of the "deal" — sigh.

Moving… Read More

This blog post falls under the catagory, "you can’t make this stuff up."

Apparently a major sticking point in the not-yet-complete budget deal has to do specifically with the education funding component. The "deal" calls for some significant cuts to education spending this year, and a promise to "pay those funds back" to education in a few years.

Whether or not you think that either sides of the education equation (cuts, repay) are a good idea or a bad idea, apparently the way things were set up was that at minimum, these changes would take place in two bills — with the cuts requiring a 2/3 vote (due to "urgency") and the payback side needed to pass on a majority vote. There was some discussion, I am told, that if proponents of the payback side of things could muster up a 2/3 vote in each house, then it could also be passed with urgency (why this is important is unclear to this non-policy guy).

Things start to get a little more sticky at this point. On the natural, it seems to me that you would move this education issue in two separate bills – presumably to allow more Dems to avoid voting for… Read More

There has been a lot of conversation taking place, especially on the GOP side, about the billions of borrowing from local governments that takes place in this current budget deal.

Let me start out by saying that if I were to articulate the biggest problem with it — it is the "borrowing" part of it. The last thing that the state should be doing, if we are going to solve our chronic budget woes, is borrow money that has to be repaid (I guess this applies to education as well). Ideally you want to cut state spending to match available revenues — and we already know the state is maxed out on taxes. In the case of the education piece, I would put a repeal of Proposition 98 on the ballot…

Anyways, once we get past the borrowing problem, you get into the question of "from where" you are borrowing the money — for the purposes of this diatribe, local government.

As a taxpayer, I guess being the simple guy that I am, I had a ledger with only two sides — my money, and the money I give to government. I don’t distinguish what… Read More

In baseball, they call this time of year "The Dog Days of Summer", the period between early July and early September when the weather is hot, players get tired and many of the hopes and dreams of the season are dashed. In Sacramento, we have our own version, only we just call it the state budget process.

So with the latest semester of the State Legislature’s clown college on summer break, let’s take a look at some other issues that fall by the wayside when we’re concerned with, you know, possibly going bankrupt.

No one ever mentions all the radical fringes that have significant sway in Sacramento. I don’t just mean the jackbooted thug state employee unions or even the teacher’s association that claims to represent underpaid educators, but somehow found $1… Read More

“Transparency” is a great sounding word. It probably polls well, but what does it mean? In the context of the budget deal, at this point, it really means having the final language of the bills in the package in print and available to legislators and the public. But it is more than just having the information available, transparency is enhanced by having it available to DO something with it.

I am sure that many GOP legislators recall the chaos and confusion that surrounded the final days and hours of the ill-fated February budget deal. I can't tell you how many Republican legislators who have privately told me that in retrospect, they wished they had voted different. Most of them cited the rushed process and lack of detailed information as contributing to votes they now regret.

I can tell you from my perspective, as an “interested-party-not-in-the-Capitol” that my experience with that February deal was not good, but instructive.

I along with many people I know were assured that the language in Prop. 1A was a spending cap. And when I say assured — I mean over and over. Assurances came from some legislators… Read More

This just off the transom…

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Political Action Committee announced today it has formally endorsed the recall of Anthony Adams, an Assemblymember who brazenly violated his pledge to his constituents not to raise their taxes.

Adams, who represents parts of Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, cast one of the deciding votes that imposed the highest tax increase in the history of all 50 states.

HJTA-PAC President Jon Coupal said the PAC's action is based both on principle and on the practical.

“Voters have every right to toss out politicians who lie in order to gain office and who demonstrate they have no intention of defending the interests of those who elected them,” said Coupal. “Blocking further damaging tax increases requires we have lawmakers the taxpayers can trust, and Adams has proven he cannot be trusted.”

In February, thanks to Adams, the Legislature imposed higher sales taxes, already the highest in the nation; higher income taxes, already the highest in the nation; higher car taxes, now the highest in the nation and increased taxes on… Read More

I just got this nice note from Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, who read my column in support of term limits over on CalBuzz. Steve’s praise is especially meaningful because of his leadership role in defeating Prop. 93, or as we dubbed it, "The Fabian Nunez Career Extension Act."

Poizner’s note is below (for those who fear I would print your notes to me without asking — I asked Steve if I could post it, and he said it was okay)… Jon, I want to applaud your submission to Calbuzz this morning on term limits. I think you are spot on with many of your points. As you know, I was a leading voice on voting “No” to Prop 93. Even though we were outspent 3 to 1, voters sent the clear message that they favor strict term limits. As this budget process has demonstrated, we need to change the type of… Read More

When the Wall Street Journalbellowsthat the "Budget Deal Gives Boost to California Republicans", you know the Party has finally turned the the corner.

Senator Dennis Hollingsworth whose initial ascent gave hope to Republicans, that Republicans would behave like Republicans instead of accommodationists for bankrupt [literally] union legislative spending.The prior leader was woefully out of his depth. Let’shope that he is thelast of the ‘let’s get along crowd’ that has dramatically tarnished the Republican brand, hurt CRP fund raising and discouraged conservatives.… Read More