Didn’t Think It Could Get Any Worse? Think Again

As though the state’s fiscal condition weren’t dire enough, Controller John Chiang sent a letter on May 29 to the governor and legislative leaders saying that on July 31 the state will be $1 billion short of meeting its payment obligations to schools, local governments and vendors.

“Based on the May Revision revenue and expenditure estimates provided to us late last week by the Department of Finance and taking into account the actual cash receipts and expenditures my office tracks, it is clear the health of the State’s treasury has significantly deteriorated since the adoption of the (budget), a mere three months ago,” Chiang wrote.    Read more »

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Is the Fate of La Jolla’s Seals Sealed?

On May 27, a San Diego Superior Court judge reiterated his 2005 ruling that the city removes seals from a La Jolla cove that is supposed to be a children’s bathing area.

The judge, Yuri Hofmann, scheduled a June 15 hearing to consider the city’s proposed plan to chase the seals off through recordings of dogs barking and jets of water.    Read more »

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Don’t Cry No Tears Around Me*

Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, a Santa Rosa Democrat, is the chair of a two-house conference committee stitching together a solution that closes a $24 billion gap between spending commitments and revenue.

Evans appeared close to tears as she haltingly delivered opening remarks during the committee’s May 26 hearing.

She said that she had just been briefed on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s latest cost-savings proposals which include eliminating CALWORKS, the acronym for the state’s welfare program, ending state funding for state parks and phasing out CalGrants, the state’s program to help students pay for college — regardless of economic circumstance.    Read more »

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Correction

(Editor’s Note: Once again, we are forced to place a reprimand in the personnel file of our chief correspondent who inaccurately stated in a May 26 post that the spending threshold to qualify a measure for the suspense file of the Assembly Appropriations Committee is $50,000. It is actually $150,000 and has been $150,000 since the distant time when John Vasconcellos chaired the committee.    Read more »

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Suspense Over the Assembly Suspense File

The state is grappling with something teetering darn close to fiscal Armageddon.

On the heels of closing a $43 billion gap between spending commitments and revenues in February, a new $24 billion gap has emerged thanks in part to further sinking of the economy over the past few months and voter rejection of three ballot measures on May 19 that accounted for $5.8 billion in budget solutions.    Read more »

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Not Sure He’s Joking

“We don’t have to worry about going off the cliff, we’re already there.”

                         — Sen. Bob Dutton

The Rancho Cucamonga Republican, vice-chair of the Senate Budget Committee, made his comment May 22 in the two-house conference committee trying close a $24 billion budget gap and cope with California’s bleak cash flow situation.    Read more »

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Take This Cup, Senator. The Bathroom is Around the Corner

A fair number of Californians believe politicians should have their heads examined but Dorothy Cummings and Gary Ellis of Lake Arrowhead want state officeholders to have their blood and urine examined too.

Under a proposed initiative filed May 20 with the Attorney General’s office, on the first day of each legislative session state senators and Assembly members would be tested for the use of controlled substances and “the habitual use of alcohol” by the California Highway Patrol.    Read more »

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Press Release: California Continues to Lead the Way in Edible Garden Movement

(Editor’s Note: Good to lead the way in something although academic achievement, charitable giving and affordable health care might be better areas in which to excel. Not that Edible gardens aren’t good though.)    Read more »

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Memo to Democratic Legislative Leaders

To: Democratic Legislative Leadership

From: Students of California Political History

May 21, 2009

As you know, the May 19 special election was a political ass-whupping. 

Had such an ass-whupping occurred during Willie Brown’s tenure as speaker he would be readying or, possibly have already readied, the governor’s budget plan for a vote by the lower house.    Read more »

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Bad Budget Problems Made Worse

There are lots of thoughtful – and disturbing – observations by the Legislative Analyst about Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s revised budget plan, which seeks to close a $21 billion gap between spending commitments and revenues.

In a report issued May 21, the Legislative Analyst says that while the GOP governor’s estimate of a $21 billion problem is “reasonable,” it is actually $3 billion higher.    Read more »

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