Last Friday, Gov. Jerry Brown’s State Water Resources Control Board ordered junior water right holders to stop diversions of water in order to protect more senior water rights and “releases of previously stored water.” Friday’s announcement only targets those whose rights have been held since 1903. Senior water right holders in the affected watersheds who staked their claims earlier than that year can continue to divert water. And so can environmentalists who together with the Bureau of Reclamation, have been letting millions of gallons of water out of dams so a few fish can migrate to the Pacific Ocean.

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In its more than 160 plus year history, few things have remained constant in California. However, since the 1800’s California has taxed all classes of property the same.

Thus, when the iconic Prop 13 passed in 1978, it did not differentiate between different kinds of property. All real property – whether residential or commercial – was bestowed with the benefits of a reasonable one percent tax rate cap and, just as importantly, a two percent limit in the annual increase in taxable value.

In 1978, the predominant fear permeating California was an exploding tax burden that was forcing people out of their homes. The one percent rate cap was important, of course, but a rate cap by itself does nothing to control a property tax bill that is based on the “market value” of one’s home. If market values double – as they frequently do in an overheated real estate market – then property owners remain vulnerable to wild fluctuations when tax time comes around.

To read the entire column click here… Read More

The Brookings, South Dakota volunteer fire department

(“Click” photo to enlarge) California’s overpaid, overpensioned firefighters love to claim they merit their astronomical compensation packages because of the risks they take.They have no answer when I point out thatthe average California firefighter is paid 60% more than paid firefighters in other 49 states. Meanwhile the CA 2011 median household income (including government workers) is only 13.4% above the national average.

www.tinyurl.com/CA-ff-and-cop-pay

In 1995, as Vice Chair of the Health Committee, I had the opportunity to participate in then Governor Pete Wilson’s package of education bills, specifically the bill requiring students to receive mandatory vaccinations as a condition of going to school. Prior to then, California had no such requirement, and, quite frankly, communicable disease in the schools was not a big problem. I negotiated a compromise with the Democrats and Governor Wilson agreeing to the mandatory vaccinations, as long as parents had an opt-out opportunity. I believed then (and believe now) a state that believes in freedom owed its citizens the freedom to not have to be forced to take drugs, any drugs, vaccinations or otherwise. Governor Wilson agreed, and the mandatory vaccination law took effect, with the parental conscience clause a compromise. When we consider that we had no law before that, and a conscience clause for the last 20 years without rampant communicable disease, I would say the compromise worked well.

Within the last year, we saw 10 cases of measles at Disneyland (hardly a typical school venue), and the whole world thought our children were going to die. Based on 10 cases… Read More

In 1992, Congress passed the 340B Drug Discount Program to help veterans, the uninsured and indigent patients get the prescription medicines they needed but could not afford. The new law required pharmaceutical manufacturers to provide significant discounts to medical clinics and qualifying hospitals as a condition of their drugs being covered by Medicaid. The clinics and hospitals had to meet certain criteria and serve charity patients in order to have access to the program.

But today, some large hospitals are profiting from the program by keeping the 340B discounts for themselves, while providing very little charity care to the intended patients.

What happened?

Since the Affordable Care Act was passed (Obamacare), the 340B drug program has… Read More

The 76th Assembly District represents the North San Diego County communities of Oceanside, Carlsbad, Vista, and Encinitas. It is a suburban district with some of the best public schools in San Diego County, and a thriving life sciences industry. Currently represented by Rocky Chavez, who is now running for U.S. Senate, the area was previously represented by Martin Garrick, and Mark Wyland before him. The current district is considered safe Republican with a 41-31% GOP registration advantage. No Democrat even filed in the he last competitive Primary Election in 2012.

With the announcement by Chavez that he is seeking the Republican nomination for the United States Senate, this means that the Assembly seat will be open, and predictably this GOP-rich seat is drawing Republican candidates. Already with his hat in the ring is conservative Oceanside City Councilman Jerry Kern.

Today longtime businessman and biotech executive Phil Graham is announcing his candidacy for the seat. I have known Phil for some time. Most recently I’ve interacted with him as an executive with the Sanford-Burnham Institute, a life-sciences firm headquartered in La Jolla. A… Read More

“Critics of public employee retirement benefits are engaging in hyperbole and pointing to potholes as evidence that millions of elderly Californians should be stripped of their retirement savings.” Brian Rice,president,Sacramento Area Fire Fighters, Sacramento Bee, June 2, 2015

Notwithstanding the possibility that saying pension reformers want to see “millions of elderly Californians stripped of their retirement savings” is itself “hyperbole,” Brian Rice’s recent Sacramento Bee submission requires a detailed rebuttal. Rice’s piece, entitled “Pensions aren’t being paid at expense of filling potholes,” was in response to a study written by Stephen Eide and released by the Manhattan Institute entitled “California Crowd-Out, How Rising Retirement Benefit Costs Threaten Municipal Services,” published in April 2015.

Rice leads off by attempting to link the Manhattan Institute to the supposedly… Read More

One of the most significant labor relations fights in the country is currently taking place in California’s Central Valley.The California state agency mandated by law to be an impartial farmworkers’ advocate between employers and unions is “in cahoots” with the United Farm Workers labor union. At issue are the legal tactics and scruples of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board.

A state superior court judge told an Agricultural Labor Relations Board attorney in 2013 that it appeared they were “in cahoots” with the United Farm Workers labor union. Even an independent investigation has confirmed that this is so.

Since being appointed ALRB General Counsel in 2011… Read More