California Republican Party on State Fair Bovine Tragedy

Let’s get Mooooving on State Budget

How many more cows must die before Dems act?

SACRAMENTO – California Republican Party Communications Director Mark Standriff today issued the following statement regarding yesterday’s tragic shooting of a dairy cow.

“Obviously, the stress of state budget uncertainty is taking its toll on these dedicated state employees, from fair management, to state fair police, to the U.C.    Read more »

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California’s Biggest Tax Breaks Aren’t Corporate Give-Aways

The change in how taxes are computed for companies doing business in California and other states – the so-called “single sales factor” – approved in the February 2009 budget — will cost the state $900 million in lost revenue starting in the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2012.

Republican lawmakers and Gov.    Read more »

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A Few Non-*!&*%# Barbs…

“He has Van Gogh’s ear for music”

–Billy Wilder

“I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening.  But this wasn’t it.”

–Groucho Marx

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Economy Improving? California New Car Sales Up 23 Percent

SACRAMENTO – The California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA) announced that registrations of new cars and light trucks in California continue to outpace national numbers.  California’s franchised new car dealers saw an increase in second quarter sales of nearly 44,000 units over the first quarter of this year.

Though sales are forecasted to slow during the second half of this year, the market improved 23 percent during the first half of 2010 versus 2009.    Read more »

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Legislative Analyst on Taxing Marijuana — Check the Source

Proponents of Proposition 19, which would legalize marijuana and allow its sale to be taxed, issued a recent press release regarding the assessment of the measure by the Legislative Analyst that will appear in voter guides for the November election.

The release from “Control and Tax Cannabis 2010” notes the analyst “provides non-partisan fiscal and policy advice” in its first sentence.    Read more »

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An Issue That Can Be Resolved WIth a One-Word Law Change

(Editor’s Note: A long-time friend of the chief correspondent of California’s Capitol is a public information officer with a state agency. Her observation about the efficacy of complying with California’s Public Records Act inspired this post.)

State agencies have 10 days to respond to a Public Records Act request. The presumption would be 10 “working” days.    Read more »

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The Last State Senator to Die in Office Before Dave Cox Was…

Prior to Dave Cox’s death July 13 from prostate cancer, the last state senator to die in office was Pete Knight in May 2004.

A former Air Force test pilot who in 1967 made the fastest airplane voyage in history, Knight was also the author of Proposition 22, the 2000 ballot measure defining marriage as solely between a man and woman.    Read more »

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Weighing the Economic Benefits of the “Single-Sales Factor”

Three times through July 16, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has publicly touted a study praising the economic benefits of a change in tax law favoring businesses operating in multiple states that was enacted as part of the February 2009 budget.

The study by Charles Swenson, a Marshall School of Business professor at the University of Southern California, assesses the impact of a tax break Republicans demanded in return for providing Democrats with enough votes to reach the two-thirds majority required to pass a budget.    Read more »

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State Unemployment Rate Falls Slightly in June to 12.3%

California’s unemployment rate fell slightly in June from 12.4 percent to 12.3 percent, the state’s Employment Development Department reported July 16.

Statistics compiled by the state show the number of persons in non-farm jobs decreased by 27,600.

The national unemployment rate fell from 9.7 percent in May to 9.5 percent. In June 2009, California’s unemployment rate was 11.6 percent.    Read more »

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August Already Shaping Up to be a Busy Month for Legislators

Despite lack of a budget two weeks into the new fiscal year, industrious lawmakers are already starting to fill the final month of the 2010 legislative session with activities – fundraising activities.

Lawmakers return from summer recess Monday, August 2 – unless some budget breakthrough occurs earlier – and adjourn August 31.    Read more »

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