Wouldn’t News Be Seeking to Harm Struggling Homeowners?

 Senator Anderson Seeks to Protect Struggling Homeowners

Asking the Public’s Help to Take Action

For Immediate Release: May 23, 2013

SACRAMENTO - Sen. Joel Anderson, a San Diego Republican, is asking Californians to shine a light on the importance of the critical Mortgage Tax Relief Bill by sending letters to key legislators to pass the measure.

Sen. Anderson has co-authored SB 30 with Sen. Ron Calderon, a Montebello Democrat.  SB 30 intends to shield thousands of families faced with losing their homes from paying taxes on a forgiven debt.

“More than 90,000 Californians suffered the financial blow of losing their homes through short sales Read more »

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Former GOP Assemblyman Turned Independent Nathan Fletcher Registers as a Democrat

Fletcher’s explanatory email to friends and supporters follows:

Ralph Waldo Emerson had a famous saying, “Life is a journey not a destination.”

For me, the last couple years have been quite a journey—going to war, serving in the State Assembly, campaigning for Mayor (of San Diego) and now teaching and working in the private sector.

You were a part of that journey as a friend and supporter.  I appreciate your faith in me more than you will ever know.  You hung with me when people said we had no chance of winning and then when every campaign was working overtime Read more »

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Brown’s Actions and His Rhetoric

With California sitting on more than $4.5 billion in expected revenue, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation May 1 spending $25.6 million, all but $1.6 million to fix a problem he and Democratic lawmakers created two years ago when they hamstrung the state’s efforts to take away weapons from Californians prohibited from owning them.

The $1.6 million is contained in AB 113 by Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield, a Woodland Hills Democrat, which is aimed at helping Secretary of State Debra Bowen speed up the  processing of the licenses businesses must file  to operate, which reached a record 85-day turnaround time last November. The wait time was still Read more »

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The Assembly and Senate’s Star-Crossed Calendars

For the first time in nearly 50 years, the Assembly and the Senate have different calendars.

Separate calendars don’t seem remotely like either calamity or catastrophe but in the insular world of the state Capitol, seemingly small stuff – like summer vacation or lack thereof — often becomes A VERY BIG DEAL.

Most of the grousing centers on the Senate maintaining the traditional mid-July adjournment date for summer recess and the Assembly leaving one week earlier. 

Two different schedules for each house complicates – critics contend needlessly – the lives of lobbyists, legislative staffers and lawmakers who must attend to business in each Read more »

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Lawmakers Back More Money to Confiscate Illegal Weapons from Californians

The state Department of Justice is likely to win legislative approval by the end of April to use $24 million in registration fees paid by gun owners to speed up taking away weapons from Californians prohibited from owning them.

Emergency legislation is awaiting action on the Assembly floor that would earmark the money, already collected by the department, to enforce the findings of its Armed Prohibited Persons System, which has identified 38,563 handguns and 1,647 so-called assault weapons in the hands of 19,770 Californians, such as felons or the mentally ill, who the law says can’t possess them.

The database of Californians who Read more »

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Fevered Tail-Wagging and Lolling of Tongues

A bill its author says will help open more dog parks around the state by protecting cities and counties from liability for any “injury or death suffered by any person or pet” occurring at those parks won unanimous approval April 3 by the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

The bipartisan agreement on the measure might stem from its subject matter. Who but the crabbiest of curmudgeons could oppose expanding opportunities for bonding among four-legged and two-legged friends? And who would saddle cash-strapped localities with greater liability exposure?

Or perhaps such rare agreement between Republicans and Democrats results from the bill being unnecessary.

“Non-controversial,” Read more »

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Slow Out of the Blocks

The Assembly Daily File printed before it went on vacation March 22, shows 14 policy committees scheduled to meet the week of April 1.

There are 176 bills calendared of which 82 were eligible to be heard before spring break.

Half of those committees are adopting their rules, an annual action required before approving or torpedoing any legislation.

The Senate’s Daily file reports 11 committees – seven of which are adopting rules — are slated to hear 103 bills. Forty of the 103 bills were eligible for a vote before spring recess. 

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Don’t Forget to Wish Willie Brown a Happy 79th Birthday

March 20 is the former Mayor of San Francisco and Assembly Speaker’s birthday. It’s also the birthday of Ozzie Nelson, Carl Reiner, Ray Goulding of “Bob & Ray” fame and Mr. Rogers, one of Brown’s mentors in keeping the Assembly’s membership and San Francisco Board of Supervisors in order. 

Brown talks about his life in some depth in this Academy of Achievement interview from 1996. An excerpt on the art of compromise:

“First and foremost, if you’re ever going to build a consensus, if you’re ever going to be the center of the compromise, you’ve got to be prepared to listen.  

“Listening Read more »

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Ask About the Jellyfish

It’s bound to happen, just given the odds. This year’s class of legislative freshmen is the largest since 1966 when the Supreme Court’s one-man, one-vote ruling changed how state lawmakers were elected. One-third of the 120 members of the Legislature are new.

Given that volume – and California’s unique diversity – there must be some legislators with interesting backgrounds. There are. But only one is a member of the Half Century Club.

There are 64 members of the club, which is comprised of individuals 50-years-of-age or older who have swam the English Channel and other marathons. Assemblyman Mark Stone, a Santa Read more »

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State Board Calls for No Sales Tax on Pet Meds

California pet and animal owners wouldn’t pay sales tax on medicines purchased from a local veterinarian under legislation proposed by the state Board of Equalization. 

The proposal recognizes the reality that many of California’s estimated 18 million pet owners search the Internet to avoid paying sales tax on medications prescribed by a veterinarian.

“Making pet medicine tax-free will benefit California pet owners and veterinarians. It also benefits Californians by keeping more dollars in our state and promoting animal health,” said Board of Equalization member George Runner, who voted along with the rest of the five-member board to support the proposal earlier Read more »

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