On a vote of 21-19, the State Senate has approved the "Get Out Of Jail Free" legislation that you can read about below in commentaries from myself and George Runner. It’s now off to the Assembly where it’s outcome, according to Capitol Weekly, is in some doubt as a number of Democrats are running for office (and would have to defend a whacky sentencing commission that includes, as one of its members, a seat for a convicted felon — you can’t make this stuff up).

Senate Republican Leader Dennis Hollingsworth (R – Murrieta) responded to the Democrats passing this bill:

“Senate Republicans believe government’s first and foremost role is to protect its citizens. Unfortunately, this proposal exploits a fiscal crisis in order to advance a dangerous liberal agenda that seeks to undo successful anti-crime laws. … Read More

Today, I offeredsix common-sense amendments to the dangerous prison bill proposed by the Democrats and the Governor. Sadly, and to the detriment of California’s safety, allsix were rejected by the Democrat Senators.

The amendments would have done the following:

* Close three juvenile facilities(read more about this proposal here) * Suspend all rehabilitation programs * Required CDCR to use Medi-Cal rate for prison health care instead of the current rate * Require CDCR to post online a soon-to-be released inmate’s criminal history 10 days prior to release * Require CDCR to post online all arrests and convictions 18 months after arrest * Remove ex-felon requirement form the Sentencing Commission (Read more about the Sentencing Committee here)… Read More

Today, the Legislature will vote on the Democrats’ prison budget proposal, which includes several dangerous elements, such as releasing inmates early from prison, rewarding thieves for stealing vehicles valued under $2,500, and creating a public safety commission that would allow membership by an ex-felon.

This measure is offensive to law-abiding Californians and an affront to crime victims. Making matters worse, this is an all-or-nothing bill – meaning the Democrats put several ideas into one bill and snuck in things like a sentencing commission that has nothing to do with reducing prison costs and everything to do with an elitist political agenda.

Specifically, Assembly Bill X3-14 creates the California Public Safety Commission, composed of 16 members one of whom will be an ex-felon appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly. Allowing an ex-con to sit on a public safety commission sounds like a parody out of Mad Magazine. Unfortunately it’s a real proposal, which means one of the commissioners could potentially be Lynette ‘Squeaky’ Fromme, the recently released felon who attempted to assassinate President Ford and an avid follower of Charles… Read More

It seems to us that the politics of the State Capitol couldn’t be more dysfunctional even if you tried to make it so — and the policy quasi-debate and votes that are scheduled to take place today on the issue of reducing the budget of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation by over a billion dollars are a prime example.

First and foremost, let’s set the table thusly… Liberal Democrats in Sacramento have for decades been applying the brakes to laws that seek to hold individual criminals accountable for their actions. The collectivist mindset of ideologues on the left is that every criminal should actually be looked at as a "victim of society" — after all, no one would actually want to violate the life, liberty or property of another — only a breakdown in the social fabric of our society, for which we are all partially responsible, could result in a person resorting to a life of crime. Right? WRONG. This failed idea completely ignores the important principle that every… Read More

It seems to us that the politics of the State Capitol couldn’t be more dysfunctional even if you tried to make it so — and the policy quasi-debate and votes that are scheduled to take place today on the issue of reducing the budget of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation by over a billion dollars are a prime example.

First and foremost, let’s set the table thusly… Liberal Democrats in Sacramento have for decades been applying the brakes to laws that seek to hold individual criminals accountable for their actions. The collectivist mindset of ideologues on the left is that every criminal should actually be looked at as a "victim of society" — after all, no one would actually want to violate the life, liberty or property of another — only a breakdown in the social fabric of our society, for which we are all partially responsible, could result in a person resorting to a life of crime. Right? WRONG. This failed idea completely ignores the important principle that every… Read More

You can reading Chris Cillizza’s Morning Fix column here.… Read More

Have you reached out to your legislator to ask them what THEY are DOING to stop the California Energy Commission from moving forward with their plan to ban big screen televisions? Check out this news story… … Read More

Yesterday I blogged about the announcement by former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina (pictured right) that she was taking the initial steps that one would take if looking at an official run for the U.S. Senate — filing her campaign committee name with the federal government, and bringing on board some communications consultants. You can read that here.

As Fiorina considers becoming a Republican candidate for the United States Senate, with an end-goal target of trying to take out liberal incumbent Barbara Boxer, she undoubtedly is well aware that she must first get through a GOP primary. For nearly a year now, conservative Assemblyman Chuck DeVore of Orange County has been running an extremely aggressive campaign for the Republican nomination. I should probably… Read More