“Never amend a bad bill.” Wise words.

Let me start with this simple premise. A tax increase is a tax increase is a tax increase. No matter what excuse is used to clothe it, no matter how big or how small. When Democrats start negotiating with Republicans about voting for a tax increase, it is sort of like the guy who sat down next to a woman at a bar and asked if she would accompany him to the motel across the street if he paid her a million dollars. When she said yes, the man said how about it I paid you $50? She looked at him shocked and said “What do you think I am?” The man says, “We’ve already established what you are, now we are just negotiating the price.”

Once Republicans negotiate on tax increases, they have already established what they are, they are now simply negotiating the price.

And that is exactly what is happening on the lumber tax bill, a bill I talked about last week, right now. An industry sponsored amendment, designed to make the bill “more business friendly” makes some regulatory changes, and reduces the tax by half, but keeps a tax on consumers of lumber products in the bill. In… Read More

Republican National Committeeman from California, is a well known fixture here at the FlashReport. He’s already in Tampa in advance of next week’s Republican National Convention, and will be “live-blogging” from on the ground… Here’s his third update from Florida.

After several busy weeks and literally hundreds of e-mails, the first Asian-American Republican Summit attracted a huge crowd at the stately St. Petersburg Lyceum. Board of Equalization Member Michelle Steel, Steven Fong, Susie and Joel Angeles were heroes!

It putting together this event, these four really pulled off a feat! Without seeking anyone’s permission they put on a really great, quality event!

But it was not an easy endeavor. First they had to secure an available venue. Secondly they had arrange for private… Read More

Immigration issues within states are becoming more prevalent. The usual complaints are that the federal government isn’t doing enough to enforce U.S. policy.

California is different. Earlier this year, it already embarked into uncharted territories, with the state Legislature voting to allow the children of undocumented aliens to attend the state’s public universities and colleges, at estimated costs of $65 million a year in financial aid and scholarships.

California: Sanctuary State

There have been many failed attempts to pass state laws allowing undocumented immigrants to live and work in California without the constant threat of deportation. Many say that this should have sent a clear message to lawmakers. Even a ballot initiative, the California Opportunity and Prosperity Act, failed to get enough signatures to quality for the November ballot.

“But noooooo,” as John Belushi used to say on “Saturday Night Live.”

Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, D-Sylmar, together with Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, revived the attempt. In one of the most repugnant moves legislators can make, they gutted and… Read More

When I wrote about AB 2451 about a week ago, it had just passed out of the State Assembly on a lopsided bipartisan vote. This legislation, by Assembly Speaker John Perez, could only be characterized as a “give away” of public funds to satisfy the state’s greedy public safety employee unions. As we sit here in the midst of a fiscal crisis, with several cities already in the midst of bankruptcy and a whole host of others in very poor fiscal condition, Perez’s bill represents a significant increase in survivor benefits after the death of former public safety workers. Since I have already extensively written on this legislation here, and since we already featured a column from our friend, and C.P.A. Bruce Bialosky exposing this terrible legislation, I will pick up where I left off.

This legislation seeks to enhance a benefit that public safety retirees should not have in the first place. No, I’m not saying that if you die as a… Read More

The latest economic confidence figures show an American public with a negative view of the economy that remains stable. Unless there is a sudden and unexpected stream of good economic news over the next 60 days, the economy will continue to be a major drag on President Obama’s re-election prospects.

Gallup reported the latest data on August 21.

While no President in modern times has been re-elected with an unemployment rate over 7.2%, the race remains extremely tight despite the low marks Americans give to the economy. The Gallup five day rolling average culminating the day before the onset of the Republican National Convention shows Barack Obama and Mitt Romney tied at 46%.

Historically, conventions tend to produce a 5-point bounce for their Presidential nominee. The Democratic convention will take place just a few days after the GOP meets, meaning any bounce is likely to be short lived.

We should have a clear idea of the post-convention… Read More

Republican National Committeeman from California, is a well known fixture here at the FlashReport. He’s already in Tampa in advance of next week’s Republican National Convention, and will be “live-blogging” from on the ground… Here’s his third update from Florida.

A confident Romney campaign managed to engineer a breathtaking coup at the Republican National Committee.

As a result of a lopsided vote, for the first time in memory, the RNC Committee itself will now be able to change the party’s rules. This is a marked change from the current system where the RNC rules could only be modified… Read More

Contrary to what you may have heard, the sky is not falling in California—at least not as it pertains to sales tax revenue. I’m pleased to report that sales and use tax revenues are doing just fine.

On August 13, the State Controller reported that sales and use tax general fund revenues for the month of July were down $295 million, 33.5% below expectations.

However, BOE actually received $1.527 billion in July, $17 million more than the Department of Finance budget projection.

The competing revenue numbers are the result of payment timing combined with differing accounting methods. As required by statute, the Controller looks at “money in the bank,” which does not include pending deposits. BOE numbers, as well as those used for state budget estimates, reflect “money in the door,” which includes all payments—including those received but not yet deposited.

BOE received more than $900 million in sales tax revenue in the final days of July. These dollars were not included in the Controller’s report because they had not yet been deposited into state coffers.

Retail sales tax… Read More

I am not one to say I told you so, so I won’t say it. However, late yesterday, Darrell Steinberg killed CEQA reform, after John Perez promised Brian Nestande that Nestande’s vote for a tax increase would result in CEQA reform and a better business environment for California. Perez lied, Nestande’s political career died.

I was hoping I was wrong, but I wasn’t. I don’t blame Nestande, this is an old trick of the Democrats, done time after time.

I had an advantage when I first joined the Legislature. I was a part of the first class of Legislators elected under term limits, which meant there were a number of Legislators who had been there for years. Legislators like Pat Nolan, Ross Johnson, Frank Hill, Bill Leonard, John Lewis, Bill Jones, Trice Harvey, Dick Mountjoy, and many others would take time to talk to us new guys about how the Legislature “really worked.” These weren’t policy discussions, they were discussions about rules and tactics, and how we could be misled. I used to hang on every word, to learn about what happened. One fun discussion, had with Charles Calderon and Steve Peace sometimes in… Read More