At 11:30am today, Governor Schwarzenegger held a press conference where he issued a State of Emergency due to the budget impasse, and also has ordered a third non-paid furlough day for each state employee through June 30, 2010. Below is a release put out by the Governor’s office with the details…

Following the legislature’s inability to pass a comprehensive solution to solve California’s entire $24.3 billion deficit, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today proclaimed a fiscal emergency and called a Proposition 58 legislative special session to address this emergency. Additionally, the Governor exercised his executive authority to save cash for vital state functions and services by ordering three furlough days every month.

“Though the legislature failed to… Read More

As we get closer to midnight rumors are starting up that the solidarity and unity of purpose of Senate Republicans is starting to fray. I've checked into this fairly recently with a source and was assured that GOP Senators were still standing together against any piecemeal cuts that would undercut pressure for a comprehensive solution to take us to June 30 of next year.

We commend Senate Republicans for their resolve, and urge them to reject the false notion that voting for a $3 billion cut bill tonight will help anything. The three biggest results of doing that would be damage to our negotiating position, kicking the can to the pleasure of the unions, and avoiding needed cuts through July and into August.

By standing firm, Senate Republicans will ultimately be able to claim a key role in an ultimate $24 billion solution, and will have protected taxpayers!… Read More

Congressman Tom McClintock delivered the following speech on the floor of the House of Representatives on June 26 during the debate on the "Cap and Trade" (National Energy Tax) Bill… The Biggest Economic Mistake Since The Days Of Herbert Hoover I had a strange sense of Deja Vu as I watched the self-congratulatory rhetoric on the house floor tonight, and I feel compelled to offer this warning from the Left Coast. Three years ago, I stood on the floor of the California Senate and watched a similar… Read More

Today is the last day of the 2008-2009 fiscal year, and it is the final opportunity for the State Legislature to place on the Governor’s desk a comprehensive fix to next fiscal year’s way-out-out-whack budget before we are actually IN that fiscal year. By "comprehensive fix" — I mean a package of cuts and reforms that ensures that state government will be able to make it all of the way to June 30, 2010 without having yet another "fiscal crisis" where we are back at the cliff, again.

Governor Schwarzenegger has been 100% on message since the May 19th Special Election — we need a complete fix for the budget situation — one that does so taking into account that the voters overwhelmingly rejected tax increases to do so.

Legislative Democrats, unbelievably Sunday (in the Assembly) and yesterday (in the Senate) rammed through billions of dollars in illegal majority-vote tax increases for what appears to be the sole purpose of sticking the legislative "middle finger" up at California voters — especially since the Governor has and continues to make it clear that any legislation that hits his desk with… Read More

The IHSS program has seen disproportionate growth over the past several years, and IHSS costs have grown nearly twice as fast as inflation and population growth.

With this remarkable growth has come a growing element of fraud, estimated to be as high as 25% of all funds expended. The Governor is seeking simple reforms to help rein in growing fraud in this worthy program. They are:

These are simple steps that ought to be easy to support to ensure scarce funds go farther.

The chart below shows the incredible growth in the IHSS program. Yet another example of a program with rapid growth, runaway fraud, deserving of additional scrutiny to ensure more funds are available to the truly needy. For 2009-10, the chart reflects what expenditures would be without the Governor’s proposed reductions. … Read More

Today is the last day of the 2008-2009 fiscal year, and it is the final opportunity for the State Legislature to place on the Governor’s desk a comprehensive fix to next fiscal year’s way-out-out-whack budget before we are actually IN that fiscal year. By "comprehensive fix" — I mean a package of cuts and reforms that ensures that state government will be able to make it all of the way to June 30, 2010 without having yet another "fiscal crisis" where we are back at the cliff, again.

Governor Schwarzenegger has been 100% on message since the May 19th Special Election — we need a complete fix for the budget situation — one that does so taking into account that the voters overwhelmingly rejected tax increases to do so.

Legislative Democrats, unbelievably Sunday (in the Assembly) and yesterday (in the Senate) rammed through billions of dollars in illegal majority-vote tax increases for what appears to be the sole purpose of sticking the legislative "middle finger" up at California voters — especially since the Governor has and continues to make it clear that any legislation that hits his desk with… Read More

In advance of the reporting by statewide candidates of their campaign finance numbers, Poizner for Governor Campaign Manager Jim Bognet sent out a memo to senior campaign supporters. We obtained a copy, and you can open it via the link below. Enjoy the comparisons between Poizner’s main opponent Meg Whitman and former DNC Chairman/failed Virginia Gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe…… Read More

The U.S. Supreme Court has taken the unusual step of asking for additional argument in the pending"Citizens United" case. That case is all about a commercially- produced movie by Citizens United, a conservative group,that is critical of Hilary Rodham Clinton, a la Michael Moore.Liberals say it violates the Federal Election Commission rules, specially the McCain-Feingold amendments which really increased FEC regulation of political speech. Part of the McCain-Feingold amendments that regulated "issue advocacy" type campaign speech were gutted by the Supreme Court in the "Wisconsin Right to Life" case. With the request for reargument, now the Court is signaling it may beon the precipice of throwing out the heart of the whole darn law!… Read More