EXCLUSIVE BREAKING NEWS! Everyone has to be from somewhere, and the worldwide headquarters of the FlashReport is located here in Orange County, California. So I am exceptionally pleased to share with our readers that Orange County’s top two elected law enforcement leaders, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas and Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, have both come out publicly agains the entire slate of meaures before voters on May 19, Propositions 1A-1F.

I am proud that these two are showing statewide leadership, and looking out for the interests of taxpayers, by opposing this terrible package of ballot measures.

Here is what they had to say:

District Attorney Tony RackauckasI categorically oppose these measures because they increase our taxes by $16 billion on top of the $12 billion dollar tax increase that the Legislature dumped on us just two months ago. This is all being done so that over all spending… Read More

In the interest of getting into out to readers quickly, I will throw this information from the Governor’s Offce without comment for now…

STATE BUDGET MAY REVISION 2009-10: TWO BUDGET SCENARIOS FACED WITH TWO POTENTIAL DEFICIT NUMBERS THE GOVERNOR IS PREPARED TO TACKLE BOTH

“Californians have a right to know the truth about the problems our state is facing and the steps we would have to take to solve our deficit.” (Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, 5/14/09)

The global recession has caused California’s revenues to continue their plummet, leaving our state with a $15.4 billion shortfall that could get worse in a matter of days. If the $5.8 billion in February budget solutions are rejected on the May 19 ballot, our budget deficit will increase to $21.3 billion – forcing unprecedented actions that will affect every Californian.

Today, the Governor is releasing two May Revision proposals because he believes the people deserve to know what steps must be taken to balance our budget in both scenarios. While both will be painful, if Propositions 1A-1F fail, California will be faced… Read More

There are always two challenges with my attempting to opine on complex policy proposals too quickly — the first is that as someone who spends some time looking at policy, but is decidedly NOT a policy expert, it is risky to weigh in to substantively too early. What if I totally misread or don’t understand a key point or proposal? The other challenge is that I also miss the chance to see what other people say first — yikes!

That said, I want to make some broad observations.

I may be the only pundit out there who will say this — but here it goes: I’m excited! While the circumstances of how we got to this point, such as years of overspending and the current economic, recession, are tragic – they say that, "adverse situations create unique opportunities for change."

In all of the years that I have been involved in fighting against the ever-growing size of the state government, and working hard to protect the freedom and liberty of state taxpayers, it has been a losing battle. It is true what they say — is it much easier to increase state spending than it is to reduce it. These proposed,… Read More

Sam Blakeslee, the leader of Assembly Republicans(he formally assumes the job in a couple of weeks, but for our purposes, he’s the top dog…), on the May Revisions: “Whether we are facing a $15 billion or $21 billion problem, the Governor’s May Revise clearly shows that both parties must approach this budget crisis with a clear sense of purpose and urgency. Now is the time for us to lead with the resolve that Californians are demanding and get our state back on the right track. Assembly Republicans have already begun working to find responsible ways to balance the budget while instituting reforms to help our economy recover from this recession as rapidly as possible. “We know these tough choices will cause great hardship for many Californians who are already hurting and have great empathy for those who will be impacted. But embracing the status quo will only produce greater pain and deeper cuts in the long run. A budget that addresses only cuts without fundamentally reforming the way state government operates will leave… Read More

SB 572, this years version of the "Harvey Milk Day" semi-state holiday bill which Governor Schwarzeneggervetoed last year, is on the file for a possible Senate Floor vote, as soon as this morning. May 22 would be the offical day that "suitable Harvey Milk commemorative exercises" would be urged to be held around the state, including the school system, if the bill were to pass. Although it wouldn’t take effect in 2009, there will likely be a push to get it out of the Senate by May 22, should it not be taken up on today’s floor vote.

Call the State Senators offices that may be inclined to vote for such a bill [hint: Most Republicans won’t need this call] and let em know what you think about SB 572 and yet another "commemorative day"that Sean Penn and Co. would like. Especially since we consolidate heroic Americans into such holidays as "Presidents Day" Light up those Capitol switchboards this morning!… Read More

BLAKESLEE COUNTERS VILLINES ON 1A There are a number of key differences between outgoing Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines and his chosen successor, Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee. But the most start distinction worth mentioning now, as opposed to when the official handing of the conch shell takes place on June 1st, is their position on Proposition 1A on the May 19th Special Election ballot. Villines helped draft 1A, and has been advocating its passage. Blakeslee opposes it, and urges Californian’s to reject the measure and the $16 billion in higher taxes that are triggered if it were to pass. As FR readers know quite well by now, the text of Proposition 1A contains a revenue "smoothing" measure designed to try and guide California politicians into saving money during good times to then have reserves to spend during tough times. There is a vibrant debate as to whether the measure… Read More

Today Assembly Republican Leader-Elect Sam Blakeslee will name four of his colleagues to a transition team — Nathan Fletcher, Jean Fuller, Martin Garrick and Jeff Miller. These folks will help Blakeslee figure out what changes should take place as the leadership passed from Mike Villines, who infamously resigned his post last week (effective June 1) amidst growing criticism of his orchestration of and vote for massive tax increases.… Read More

It may seem counter intuitive for me to be asking this question of Legislative Republicans, as opposed to the liberal Democrats that make up the majority of state legislators – but here it is – are you ready to make serious and deep cuts in state government spending?

I ask this question because as we can all see from the very serious funding shortfall that exists with the adopted budget, upwards of over $20 billion, there is a severe problem, and I think that it is fair to anticipate that California voters are going to reject not only new taxes, but also the various schemes on the ballot to throw more revenues at this problem. The message from the public will be clear – reduce state spending to available revenue.

I direct this commentary to Republicans because it is widely anticipated that the Governor will present a May Revision of the existing budget that includes some very tough spending cuts that will have a huge, material impact on the role and function of California government.

Republicans need to be ready to move beyond the talk, and embrace the cuts, and stand with the Governor when he is doing the right thing.

No one is saying… Read More