Your Tax Dollars At Work

It’s 4:30 pm in the California State Assembly on Thursday May 29, 2008.

It is the final day of the final week to move legislation out of its house of origin.

Presiding Officer, Sally Lieber, a Mountain View Democrat, recognizes Nicole Parra, a termed-out Fresno Democrat.

Parra introduces AB 2572, requiring restaurants with 20 or more locations throughout the state to provide customers with nutritional information about the fare. Read more »

5.29.2008

On Government Spending

“The problem with the state’s finances is not what’s being earned in revenues. Revenues are up. Its the method by which we spend. It has never had anything to do with revenues.

“We make decisions on spending and don’t think revenue realistically. Government should always operate on the theory you afford what you can afford to spend — not what you project you’re going to get. Read more »

5.23.2008

A Political Aptitude Test

Requiring the governor to pass California’s high school exit exam or forfeit his job – as proposed by Sen. Dean Florez a Shafter Democrat — is a good first step.

The measure very generously allows the governor to take the test as many times as necessary in whatever language he chooses within a year of when Senate Resolution 28 is approved by the upper house. Read more »

5.19.2008

The More Things Change…

“Governor (______) expressed exasperation with the Assembly, where the simplest tasks become tangled in huge political battles, but praised the state Senate for easily passing parts of a bipartisan compromise to balance the state’s budget.”

A.Schwarzenegger

B. Wilson

C. Davis

D. Reagan

5.15.2008

Chemical Interdependency

Assemblyman Cameron Smythe, a Santa Clarita Republican, was speaking to a group of chemical industry executives Thursday morning and joked that it wasn’t until he became vice-chair of the lower house’s Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials committee that he learned how truly dangerous the world is.

Smythe said that sometimes the actions of the committee’s majority can be baffling and that the “science” used to justify some pieces of legislation isn’t always reliable. Read more »

5.14.2008

Deja Vu All Over Again

“The People of California want us to live within our means just as they do,” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday as he introduced his revised spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2008 which holds the line on spending and does so, at least at the moment, with no tax increases. Read more »

5.13.2008

The Only Thing New In The World Is The History You Don’t Know

A quarter century ago, another GOP governor, George Deukmejian, faced a fiscal crisis eerily similar to the one Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will attempt to solve when he issues his May Revision on Wednesday the 14th.

Smart and respected folks have urged Schwarzenegger to take the kind of action Deukmejian’s successor Pete Wilson did and raise taxes. Read more »

5.13.2008

The Plus Side of Term Limits

Karen Bass sworn in as California’s 67th Assembly Speaker Read more »

5.12.2008

RESOLVE NOT TO REVISE

On Wednesday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will present his May REVISION.

It is not a revise.

Nor has it ever been.

Revise, according to the Free On-Line Dictionary – in complete harmony with Funk & Wagnall’s, Webster’s and the venerated OED – is defined as:

1. To prepare a newly edited version of (a text). Read more »

5.07.2008

There’s Still Time. Call Direct! Call Collect! But Call Today!

Speaker Bass VIP Reception Fundraiser Read more »

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