This coming May, California voters will be asked to vote on a half-dozen different ballot measures placed before them by the state legislature.

Over the coming weeks, I will be taking a look at each of those measures – analyzing them and giving FR readers my take on them. The first one that I am going to tackle is the last of the six on the ballot – Proposition 1F.

1F is a pretty straight forward measure to describe – if California has a deficit in a given year, then the independent commission that reviews the salary of the Governor and State Legislators is directed to not give any raises to these politicians for that year.

On a first-pass, it sounds pretty reasonable. But the policy objective behind this measure, upon closer examination, is quite… Read More

Believe it or not – it’s true. In one of the most blatant attempts that I have ever seen to deprive voters of a remotely fair and remotely balanced title and summary for a ballot measure, the state legislature approved wording for Proposition 1A for the ballot that literally fails to mention that voters are being asked to make a trade off — a spending cap (subject to a 2/3 legislative override via tax increases) in exchange for extending massive taxes for additional years. There is a case to be made to the voters for passing 1A even with the taxes, of course, that advocates can make. But it is insulting to Californians to purposely deprive them of information critical to making an informed decision.

If you want to play "Where’s Waldo" — click here for the official title and summary of Proposition 1A — you see if you can see where there is a mention of the massive taxes?

Well, someone is "taking it to a judge" as they say… Just in from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association…… Read More

I am a real John and Ken fan. Back in 1993, I used to listen to them every day, and one day sent them a budget proposal by the Assembly Republicans. They mentioned on the radio, said they didn’t care about the budget, and asked what I was going to do about the Three Strikes law. I sent them some information on a motion to withdraw that I and a group of Republicans did in May of 1993 to try and pass the Three Strikes law. That little event led to a revolution that passed Three Strikes, led to a Republican majority in the Assembly, and toppled Willy Brown as Speaker. It was all due to John and Ken.

Since then they have been voices of clarity on the budget, on illegal immigration, on the recall, on Governor’s Schwarzenegger’s betrayal of the recall, and on the recent tax increase. They have taken a lot of heat, but they have given a lot of it as well, and they have done it in the pursuit of good issues right for the people of the state of California. They are proof that if you do the right thing, good things (including good ratings) will result.

But I have to disagree on Jeff Miller. Jeff Miller did the right thing. He voted… Read More

Is a well-written spending cap worth extra years of tax increases? That is the question that confronted our legislators and now confronts every California voter. The deal that was pushed by the Governor was to re-enact a spending cap as good as or better than the original Gann spending limit of 1979. For a variety of reasons, I conclude that this has been achieved. Once in place, this spending limit could be changed only by the voters, although I fully expect future governors and legislators to search for every loophole. This spending limit will not cut taxes. In fact, passage of the measure is linked to extensions of the new tax increases on sales (though 2012), income (through 2013) and cars (also 2013). Can California’s economy survive more years of our being the state that is the least competitive and most hostile to new jobs in the nation? I know it will exacerbate the suffering of unemployment and failing businesses. If this spending limit succeeds in containing spending, then the big budget battles still lie ahead. Future legislatures will be forced to repeal current spending formulas to be able to live within the… Read More

Today at 11 a.m. Pacific Standard Time, the U.S. Senate will commence deliberations on a bill to fund the federal government for the rest of the year. Sometime this week, as part of the legislation, a heated discussion about polar bears will likely take place.

Then the majority Democrats (with a little help — it will take 60 votes) will probably push through the Omnibus Appropriations Bill, H.R. 1105, along with several "riders" such as Section 429, all of which President Obama will probably sign into law.

Section 429 is aimed at protecting polar bears at all costs, while at the same time creating a real possibility that the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) will finally push America’s economy, the Act itself, the polar bear himself/herself, and perhaps all of the above, toward extinction.

This reminds me a little bit of last year’s tax day, April 15, when the Nevada Development Authority sent people dressed in bear suits to the Capitol in Sacramento. The bears held up signs saying it was "Time to Feed the Bear."

This was intended as a message to business owners and relocation managers thinking of leaving… Read More

In a specialpresentation last weekend at the Sunday floor session ofthe California Republican Party Convention in Sacramento, the Temecula/Murrieta Valley Republican Women Federated club took home the honor of "Chairman’s Grassroots Club Award."

Recognized for "outstanding volunteerism on behalf of the Republican Party," the Republican women were honored for registering over one thousand new Republican voters (in the middle of one of the most difficult periods to register new Republicans) and logging an impressive total of 4,500 hours from August to Election Day in the Southwest Riverside County headquarters for the McCain campaign. Accepting the award from CRP officials was President Adele Harrison.

One volunteer present at the Convention, but too humble to take credit for the honor, is Bridget Blanton. This dedicated young lady volunteered six days a week, for at least a twelve-hour shift each day (10 AM-10 PM), working a… Read More

Lester Snow, Director of Department of Water Resources, has once again penned an exclusive commentary for FlashReport readers…

We’re in our third consecutive year of drought due to below-average rain and snowfall in California. Despite the recent storms, we are still well behind average for the year and there’s virtually no chance that we will get enough rainfall this spring to pull California out of this drought. Three dry years combined with court-ordered restrictions on pumping from the Delta climate change impacts, and a state that has grown by 9 million since the 1991 drought has created a real crisis for our economy, our environment and our agriculture industry. Today, the Governor has taken bold action to assist… Read More

Lester Snow, Director of Department of Water Resources, has once again penned an exclusive commentary for FlashReport readers…

We’re in our third consecutive year of drought due to below-average rain and snowfall in California. Despite the recent storms, we are still well behind average for the year and there’s virtually no chance that we will get enough rainfall this spring to pull California out of this drought. Three dry years combined with court-ordered restrictions on pumping from the Delta climate change impacts, and a state that has grown by 9 million since the 1991 drought has created a real crisis for our economy, our environment and our agriculture industry.

Today, the Governor has taken bold action to assist people, communities and businesses as they deal with the challenges of this drought. By proclaiming a… Read More