California News Roundup - August 25, 2008

Dan Walters: California's borrowing orgy unlikely to end soon -- A well-established economic principle, called the "wealth effect," holds that consumers' spending is influenced more by their sense of well-being than by their incomes. If consumers believe that their wealth is growing – from home equity or retirement savings, for instance – they're more inclined to run up credit cards, tap home equity and otherwise incur debt to buy things.


Oakland's missing millions -- Oakland's finances appear to be far worse than suspected. Former City Manager Robert Bobb, who has parachuted into town at the request of Mayor Ron Dellums to try to sort out the fiscal mess, has discovered that Oakland's reserves have been drawn down by as much as $48 million in the past year, and accounting for most of the missing funds hasn't been easy.


Farmworkers union chief wants change in voting -- United Farm Workers President Arturo Rodriguez has worked for more than three decades in the labor union co-founded by Cesar Chavez in the 1960s. Rodriguez was at the Capitol last week to lobby for Assembly Bill 2386, which would make it easier for the union to organize by allowing farmworkers to sign cards in lieu of secret-ballot voting.


Deal would allow state oversight of chemicals in California -- An ambitious proposal crafted in the dwindling days of the legislative session would for the first time give state regulators broad authority to oversee chemicals in consumer products.


Free grocery bags targeted for extinction in California -- The plastic grocery bag is fighting for its crinkly life. From the city of San Francisco to Los Angeles County, more than a dozen local governments around the state have proposed or passed plastic-bag restrictions, ranging from recycling mandates to outright bans.



Johnson attracts big names in Sacramento mayor's race -- Kevin Johnson took the stage of a packed Oak Park theater last week and accepted an endorsement from Jack O'Connell, California's public schools chief and one of the state's most visible elected officials.


Algebra - it's everywhere -- Algebra. The very word can twist the stomachs of otherwise well-adjusted adults, dredging up memories of nonsensical X's and Y's and a lifelong loathing of math. For many, the math course was the educational equivalent of castor oil, forced down the throats of teenagers who questioned when they would ever encounter that train leaving Boston at 60 mph.

Another Episode of "Democrat Senators Gone Wild"

Here is yet another story of a California State Senator acting like a fool.

Two weeks ago, Senator Pat Wiggins cursed at a pastor during a committee hearing, stating that is aurguments were "Bull S***t".

And yesturday, Senator Carole Migden's entire staff was sent home after she berrated and yelled at them.

Here is the story as reported by the Capitol Alert:

After yelling episode, Migden's staff sent home

Sen. Carole Migden's Capitol staff was sent home on Thursday afternoon and told not to report to work on Friday, after the San Francisco Democrat was heard berating them from the hallway.

Enedina Hidalgo, the director of personnel for the state Senate, overheard Migden screaming, according to a witness to the event. The source said Hidalgo entered the office while the senator was not present on Thursday, informing the staff of their rights.

Soon after, Hidalgo returned to Migden's office with Tony Beard Jr., the chief sergeant-at-arms of the state Senate. They told the staff to pack up their belongings and escorted them out of the building, the witness said.

A spokeswoman for Migden, Tracy Fairchild, declined comment and referred all questions about the incident to the Senate Rules Committee.

Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, an Oakland Democrat and chair of the Rules Committee, declined to comment. Secretary of the Senate Greg Schmidt, the top aide to the Rules Committee, and Hidalgo also declined to comment.

When Sen. Carole Migden was directly asked about Thursday's events, Perata aide Lynda Gledhill sought to intervene, telling Migden she did not have to comment.

"They weren't sent home," Migden said of her staff, before walking away.

Late Thursday afternoon, the phones to the Migden's Capitol office went unanswered and mail had piled up by 4:45 p.m., stuffed under the locked office door.

On Friday, none of Migden's regular aides reported to work in the Capitol. Her office was staffed by temporary workers from the Senate Rules Committee.

Migden, known for her brusque attitude, is a 10-year veteran of the Capitol, having served six years in the Assembly and one term in the Senate.

Earlier this year, she lost a three-way Democratic primary to Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco. She was the first California legislator in a dozen years to lose a primary re-election contest.

"We need responsible representation," Leno said to a Marin audience during the campaign. He campaigned in part on character issues.

Migden suffered a bout of bad publicity during the campaign, especially surrounding an erratic 30-mile drive last May on Interstate 80 in which she careened off the center divider and later rear-ended a car with her state-owned SUV.

She later suggested that medicine she was taking for leukemia may have contributed to the episode.

A no-nonsense lawmaker, Migden admitted during the primary that her curt demeanor sometimes rubbed associates the wrong way. But she was unapologetic. "I make no apologies that sometimes it's a tough arena," she said at the time.

Migden will leave office at the end of November.

California News Roundup - August 22, 2008

Governor may seek special election for budget -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Thursday that the budget deadlock could last for several more weeks, a delay that would force him to call a special election. Two significant pieces of his budget require voter approval, and many state lawmakers consider Sunday to be the drop-dead deadline for placing new measures on the ballot for the November election.


Steinberg elected as Senate leader (in waiting) -- Six months after the decision was made, Darrell Steinberg – a former labor lawyer and unabashed liberal – was formally elected Senate president pro tem Thursday in a unanimous voice vote by his colleagues. But in the longest legislative transition in modern California history, the Sacramento Democrat won't assume office until Nov. 30 – one day before current Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, is termed out of office.


Dan Walters: GOP spending a major player in California budget gap -- Republicans are largely bystanders in a Legislature controlled by liberal Democrats – except when it comes to the state budget. If they maintain discipline, the two-thirds budget vote requirement gives Republicans a pivotal role, one very evident in this year's game of political chicken over closing a $15 billion-plus deficit. But what kind of role?


Q&A: Governor says sales tax increase is right for state -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke to The Bee on Thursday after embracing a temporary 1-cent sales tax proposal to help bridge a $15.2 billion budget shortfall. Under the plan, the sales tax after three years would drop permanently by 1.25 cents, and lawmakers would agree to support long-term budget changes. The state is now 53 days into the fiscal year without a budget.


Bill would aid young violent-crime witnesses -- California children who witness violent crime - the killing of a neighbor or assault of a friend - would be eligible for up to $5,000 in mental health services under a bill awaiting the governor's signature. The bill would close a loophole in current law, which currently offers state victims assistance funding only for those directly affected by violence or those living with or related to the victims, said the measure's author, Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.


Texting while driving? California Senate says 'GTG' -- Everyone knows not to get caught DWI, but tech-savvy drivers may soon be outlawed from engaging in DWT -- driving while texting. Trying to keep pace with advances in technology, a divided state Senate approved a measure Thursday that would outlaw text messaging by motorists in California.


Killer must be paroled, state high court says -- A convicted murderer who is eligible for parole, and poses no demonstrable threat to the public, can't be kept behind bars solely because of the horrific facts of a crime that occurred many years earlier, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The 4-3 decision rejected Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision to override the state parole board and veto the release of a Los Angeles woman who spent 24 years in prison for killing her lover's wife.

Gov's idea for rainy day fund is all wet

Yesterday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger offered, what he calls a "Compromise Budget" that he says, "responsibly addresses California's remaining $15.2 billion budget shortfall and reforms our broken budget system." (Click Here to See his Press Conference)

The truth is that his current budget plan is not new, not a compromise, does not contain budget spending reform and does not address the current budget deficit.

The Budget Reform measures being offered by the governor include:

A Strong Rainy Day Fund


• Increases the size of California's Budget Stabilization Account (BSA) from 5 percent of General Fund expenditures to 12.5 percent -or approximately $13 billion dollars today.


• Requires annual transfers to the BSA of 3 percent of General Fund and eliminates the ability to suspend those annual transfers. In years when the BSA is full (at 12.5%), the annual transfer is reduced to 1.5 percent. During economic downturns, when funds can be drawn out of the BSA, the transfer would not occur.


• In addition to the annual transfer of 3 percent of General Fund to the BSA, the compromise proposal requires that all current-year revenue above the amounts included in the Budget Act be transferred to the BSA, after first providing funding to education as required under Proposition 98. This would mean that any unexpected spike in revenues that occur during the fiscal year - normally recognized in the Governor's May Revision - would be transferred to the BSA.


• Funds could only be transferred out from the BSA under the following conditions: 1) actual revenues during the Fiscal Year must be below a specified level: prior year spending adjusted by population growth and per capita personal income growth; 2) funds transferred from the BSA back into the General Fund must be appropriated in a stand-alone urgency bill, subject to a 2/3rds vote of the Legislature. The amount transferred out of the BSA during a fiscal year would be limited to the amount which would bring revenues up to prior year spending adjusted by population and per capita personal income growth.


• When the balance in the BSA reaches 12.5 percent, the excess would be available for one-time purposes only. One-time purposes would include: paying down debt, paying off outstanding General Obligation bonds, investing in infrastructure and capital outlay projects, paying for "settle-up" dollars owed to education, pre-paying health care liability for retired employees (OPEB), and tax relief.



Mid-Year Reduction Authority


• Authorizes the Director of Finance to do the following when s/he determines, mid-year, that revenues have fallen below specified levels:


• Reduce state operations budgets by up to 7 percent without modifying or suspending the law.


• Freeze Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs), rate increases or increases in state participation in local costs, as designated in the Budget Act, for up to 120 days.


• Requires the governor to submit urgency legislation to permanently suspend COLAs and other rate increases. If the governor fails to act within the 120 days, or the Legislature fails to adopt the suspension, the COLAs and other rate increases are reinstated.

There are several problems with this proposal. First, there is noting in it that addresses the issue of overspending. All it requires is for the state to contribute 3% of whatever they spend to the reserve, thus increasing the amount that goes to the rainy day fund as spending increases. But it does not limit spending!

A firm spending cap would limit the argument for future tax increases as long as revenues are in line with spending. But under this proposal, Democrats will be free to increase spending as they wish as long as they offer tax increases to help cover the cost.

Secondly, what good is it to allow the governor to make mid-year reductions that will last only 120 days? That’s right! Unless the 2/3 of the legislature votes to make the reductions permanent, then spending goes back to normal levels.

Maybe I am mistaken. But I don’t think there are any Democrats who would vote to make such cuts permanent. And it is highly unlikely that Republicans will get a supermajority in both houses of the state legislature anytime soon. Thus, the offer of mid-year reductions as offered in this proposal is all smoke and mirrors.

It is regretful that the Governor has caved on the idea of a spending cap. I believe that legislative Republicans could legitimately consider supporting his proposal if it truly addressed the issue of out of control spending.

California News Roundup - August 21, 2008

Governor recycles sales-tax hike budget -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, calling the Legislature's failure to agree on a budget deal shameful, made public on Wednesday his latest spending proposal, which includes a temporary, one-cent increase in the sales tax, additional cuts and spending limits intended to bank revenue in boom years.


Republicans will strip local government limits out of budget proposal -- Republican legislators are planning on bringing back a controversial spending limit proposal that failed late last week. But the new version of ACA 19 will be missing most of the language that would have imposed tough budgeting rules not just on the state but on local governments as well.


State Senate passes bill aimed at thieves of metal fixtures -- Twice in the past four years, San Joaquin County farmer Richard Rodriguez has been victimized by metal thieves making off with nearly $25,000 in sprinkler pipes. "As long as there's a market and the people who buy this stuff don't ask questions, this is going to be a problem," said Rodriguez, who works 500 acres.



Hearing date means California workers get full pay for August -- California workers targeted by a gubernatorial order to cut their pay to federal minimum wage have dodged that bullet – at least for August. A Sacramento Superior Court judge Wednesday set a hearing to decide the pay dispute for Sept. 12, too late to affect this month's payroll.


The Buzz: Budget may keep governor from sharing GOP lineup with Cheney -- The Republican National Convention announced Wednesday that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is slated to speak on Monday, Sept. 1, the same night as Vice President Dick Cheney. But Schwarzenegger, who has told lawmakers to stay home from the national conventions if a budget deal isn't done, told reporters he will do the same.


Capitol Weekly: Ranking of the Legislators -- It's that time again. As Capitol staffers and lobbyists frantically come up against bill deadlines, and maybe even talk about the budget now and then, the editorial team here at Capitol Weekly has been busily reducing lawmakers to basic, rudimentary statistics.


Bill would give state tax relief for borrowers -- Struggling borrowers who persuade lenders to forgive part of their mortgage debt would get new tax relief under a bill, SB1055, on its way to the desk of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill, by Sen. Mike Machado, D-Linden, copies the federal tax forgiveness approved late last year by Congress and President Bush. Machado's version applies to California state taxes.


For rural California, stakes are high in Capitol’s budget wars -- Sen. Dave Cox's 1st Senate District enfolds nine counties and parts of three more, a district that is 80 percent rural and stretches north to the Oregon line and south to Mammoth Lakes on the Sierra Nevada's eastern slope.


Legislature takes aim at urban sprawl and global warming -- A bill calling for financial incentives to target greenhouse gases would be the first in the nation.


Bush plan would blunt state birth control law -- A proposed Bush administration regulation on contraception and abortion would stop California from enforcing a state law that requires Catholic hospitals and charities to provide birth control coverage for thousands of female employees, state Attorney General Jerry Brown and family-planning advocates said Wednesday.


Protected immigrant faces charges in stabbing -- An immigrant suspected of being in the United States illegally - freed after being shielded from possible deportation by San Francisco officials despite committing two gang-related assaults as a juvenile - faces charges that he tried to stab a man to death last year in San Mateo County, authorities say.


State officials plan to appeal Medi-Cal ruling -- State officials are planning to appeal a federal judge's decision this week that blocked 10 percent cuts in Medi-Cal fees to doctors, pharmacists and other medical professionals. The state also plans to ask next week for a reconsideration and a stay of the decision by U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder of Los Angeles, contending her ruling would cost California $575 million a year.


Tyrone Freeman steps aside as head of SEIU chapter -- President of California's largest local says it will be placed under a temporary trustee after Los Angeles Times stories reported payments to firms owned by his wife and mother-in-law.

California News Roundup - August 20, 2008

GOP leader stomps out of state budget talks -- Budget negotiations between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and four Legislative leaders fell apart Tuesday when one of the Republican leaders stormed out of the meeting, angrily charging that the talks "are not helpful." "Frankly, I was very frustrated when leaving that meeting," Assembly Republican leader Mike Villines from Clovis (Fresno County), said in an interview. "I'm tired of walking into (these meetings) and the only thing that's being talked about is more tax increases."


Schwarzenegger's push to hike sales tax riles GOP -- ov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken on an unlikely role as one of the Capitol's most steadfast champions of a tax hike, spurning his fellow Republicans' uncharacteristic effort to borrow their way out of budget trouble. The GOP lawmakers, preferring debt to a tax increase, say Democrats might have agreed to close the $15.2-billion budget gap with loans by now if not for Schwarzenegger.


Judge blocks state's cut in Medi-Cal fees -- A federal judge has blocked California's 10 percent cut in Medi-Cal fees for doctors, dentists and pharmacies, saying the money-saving measures appear to violate federal law and would worsen medical care for millions of poor people. In her ruling Monday, U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder of Los Angeles said she was aware of California's gaping deficit, now $17.2 billion (including $2 billion in reserves) with the budget 50 days overdue and legislators still deadlocked.

Dan Walters: This week's pivotal for state Capitol's budget, water battles -- This is shaping up as a make-or-break week not only on the long-stalled state budget but on other major issues, such as water bonds, that are tied to the Nov. 4 ballot.

Budget before conventions, governor says -- Presidential conventions? Not until California passes a state budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told legislative leaders Tuesday. "I told the legislative leaders that it's extremely important not to leave before we have a budget done," Schwarzenegger said.

Parra wins praise for political gumption -- A day after she was booted from her Capitol office, Assembly Member Nicole Parra on Tuesday showed no signs of backing off her demand that lawmakers approve a water bond before she votes on the state budget, now 51 days late.

Bill would make hybrids heard on streets -- Electric and hybrid vehicles may be good for the environment, but a California lawmaker says they're bad news for the blind. State Sen. Alan Lowenthal, a Long Beach Democrat, is pushing a bill aimed at ensuring that the vehicles make enough noise to be heard by the blind and visually impaired when they're about to cross a street.

San Franciscon cuts misuse of disability parking fine -- hile the prices of many parking infractions in San Francisco are going through the roof, there's one violation that has become a relative bargain - misusing a parking placard for people with disabilities. That used to cost miscreants $500 a pop. Now, the fine is a mere $100.

Indian tribes, charities reach deal on bingo fundraisers -- California's politically powerful Indian casino tribes and the state's major charities have worked out a "win-win" deal that would allow the charities to expand their bingo operations while preserving the tribes' constitutional monopoly on slot machines. But the compromise, which has attracted a swarm of lobbyists in the waning days of the Legislature's session, might be a lose-lose for some small charities, particularly in the Sacramento area, and for manufacturers of electronic games that look and play like slot machines but are advertised as "electronic bingo" machines.

State Senate sends bills on guns, traffic and bandit taxis to Schwarzenegger -- Among the bills is one that would close a loophole on carrying loaded firearms in unincorporated areas. Another would fine bandit cab operators $5,000 and disconnect their phones.

Twice as many in state can now afford a home -- A pair of reports released Tuesday highlighted the upside of the real estate downturn: Housing is becoming more affordable for more people across California and the Bay Area. The percentage of households able to buy an entry-level residence in the state reached 48 percent during the second quarter, double the level from a year ago, according to the California Association of Realtors.

Federal foreclosure-purchase program may fall flat in California -- To Congress, it looked like a way to both ease blight and provide affordable housing: give local governments $4 billion to buy, repair and resell homes lost to foreclosure. But the program -- included in the landmark housing bill signed by President Bush last month -- faces growing doubts among real estate experts and economists, who point out that the government will now be competing with lenders and private homeowners who have been struggling to sell in a depressed market.

Algebra 1 requirement highlights teacher shortage -- Now that the state has mandated Algebra 1 for all eighth-graders within three years, a deeply entrenched problem has become even more urgent: California does not have enough qualified teachers of mathematics. Districts recognize the problem and are doing what they can to cultivate more teachers. So are universities. The number of new math teachers emerging from colleges has been going up.

USD revokes invitation to feminist theologian -- A University of San Diego decision rescinding a prestigious position to a Catholic feminist theologian has thrust it smack in the middle of a national debate over academic freedom versus adherence to church teachings.

Dan Weintraub: For builders, clean-air rules' timing is tough -- Mike Shaw didn't want to be caught by surprise when the state starting cracking down on diesel engines. He owned more than 100 of them – powering the scrapers, graders and bulldozers that are the backbone of his San Diego construction business. So he paid close attention when the state's air pollution regulators wrote new rules requiring the owners of diesel-powered equipment to clean up their fleets. And as he thinned the oldest, dirtiest engines from his stock, Shaw thought he was well on his way to satisfying the state's requirements.

In Case You Missed It: Debates on CA Budget & Spending Cap (Video)

As promised, here are links to streaming video for anyone interested in viewing the Assembly Floor debate on the budget, which took place on Sunday or the Assembly Budget Committee, which met on Friday.

(Click Here for Assembly Budget Debate) **Warning** This is a long video! Debate lasted from about 4 pm until around 8:30pm.

(Click Here for the ACA 19 Hearing) Roger Niello did us Proud!