On March 24 there will be an informational hearing held by the Fair Political Practices Commission’s Subcommittee on the Political Reform Act & Internet Political Activity at the University of Southern California School of Law.

I have been asked to testify before this Subcommittee and have been asked to focus my remarks on, "On developments in the use of the internet in campaigns and what you expect will happen in the future. Your thoughts about what that means for the appropriate regulatory structure for such campaign activity would also be very helpful to us."

IF AFTER READING THIS BLOG POST YOU HAVE INPUT FOR ME RELEVANT TO MY PENDING TESTIMONY, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

**There is more – click the link**… Read More

On March 24 there will be an informational hearing held by the Fair Political Practices Commission’s Subcommittee on the Political Reform Act & Internet Political Activity at the University of Southern California School of Law.

I have been asked to testify before this Subcommittee and have been asked to focus my remarks on, "On developments in the use of the internet in campaigns and what you expect will happen in the future. Your thoughts about what that means for the appropriate regulatory structure for such campaign activity would also be very helpful to us." IF AFTER READING THIS BLOG POST YOU HAVE INPUT FOR ME RELEVANT TO MY PENDING TESTIMONY, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

By way of background, here is an excerpt from the FPPC’s website where they talk about the… Read More

This just in from Tucker Bounds, Communications Director for the Whitman for Governor campaign…

With Election Day 2010 fast approaching, Jerry Brown has refused to explain what his intentions would be as governor. It’s a stark contrast to the way Meg has gone about courting voters.

Meg, who leads her Republican primary rival by 30 points and is tied with Jerry Brown in a brand new poll, is running a modern, multi-tiered media campaign that is focused on how Californians get their news today. Since announcing her intentions to seek the Republican nomination for Governor,… Read More

The well-respected Rasmussen public opinion research company today has released some new survey data on the California Governor’s race with some pretty significant results…

Joe Matthews reports today that the electronic petition signature of Mr. Michael Ni has been filed in San Mateo county, the first of its kind, (and on a marijuana initiative) setting up a legal battle on whether such a signature is a valid "affixation." If it is, Matthews says "efforts to reform California’s dysfunctional government could get an important boost."

Not too long ago our publisher asked if I’d consider writing something about the brewing issue of iPhone applications for California initiatives. I punted at the time. But Joe’s story today breathed some life into me. I disagree with the analysis that electronic signatures can help reform California in a positive way, and I want to spend a little effort here to parse this "iPhone" initiative distribution talk, because I think it is not legal, not a good idea, and will only create more dysfunction, because ultimately it will undermine and reduce the influence of initiative campaigns themselves. More on that near the end of this post.

First, I disagree with the underlying notion that the initiative system is the source of the… Read More

Peter Foy has endorsed Steve Poizner. Here’s a featured column from Foy, the Chairman of Americans for Prosperity, California…

Hmmm. The first radio spot put out by the union-backed effort to bash Meg Whitman contains… a fundraising appeal? Maybe this effort isn’t as flush as reported…… Read More

Controller John Chiang released a new actuarial report last week that shows California faces a $51.8 billion bill to pay for health and dental benefits for state retirees.

The unfunded obligation as of June 30, 2009, grew $3.6 billion from $48.2 billion in the prior year. Unlike state pensions, which are covered by pre-funding and investment returns, California pays for retiree health benefits on a pay-as-you-go basis as the costs come due each year.

The State would need to contribute $2.8 billion in 2009-10 to fully fund its obligation. But Controller Chiang did not go far enough. These are contractual obligations that legally are more important than regular legislative budget appropriations. Chiang should announce that he will prioritize what checks to write to make sure that contracts are honored.

The report can be found … Read More