News Archives
Here’s What Voters WIll Be Facing on the November 2 Ballot
June 24 is the last day for the Secretary of State to determine if an initiative qualifies for the November ballot.
Any initiative qualifying after that date appears on a subsequent statewide ballot. Under normal circumstances, June 2012.
On the final day, an initiative backed by the California Teachers Association to repeal three tax breaks approved as part of the 2009 budget qualified as did a measure lowering the approval needed for a budget from two-thirds to simple majority, one to eliminate the 14-member redistricting commission approved by voters in November 2008 and another initiative sponsored by the state Chamber of Commerce increasing the vote required for “levies and charges” to two-thirds. Read more »
A Guest Post from Assemblyman Wes Chesbro of Eureka
Today, June 23, my Sacramento office has taken one step closer to reflecting the diversity of California and the communities I represent. We’ve hired, full-time, our WE Include intern, Jayleen Johnson.
The WE Include program was created by California First Lady Maria Shriver and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to better integrate individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities into professional work environments, where they learn skills and forge friendships. Read more »
From Inside “The More Things Change File,” What’s the Year?
“In XXXX, the state faced a multibillion-dollar budget problem.
Initially responding to … (a) proposal to transfer authority over some mental health and health programs to counties, the Legislature considered aa number of options to simultaneously reduce the state’s budget shortfall and improve the workings of state-county programs.”
-30- Read more »
Oil-Company Backed AB 32 Suspension on November Ballot
The November ballot will be a battleground over a key part of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s legacy – AB 32, the landmark law requiring a steep rollback in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
Qualifying for the ballot June 22 is the “California Jobs Initiative,” backed chiefly by oil companies, which would suspend the law until California’s unemployment rate drops to 5.5 percent or less for four consecutive quarters. Read more »
A Look at How Public Schools Fared Over the Last 13 Budgets
Michael Hulsizer, head of legislative affairs for the office of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, compiled the following comparison of the state’s general fund revenue growth and public school spending from July 1, 1998 through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011.
There is also a percentage comparison of the increase in public school spending compared to other areas of the budget for the same period. Read more »
June Tax Collections Closer to Estimates But Still Fall Short
With nine days left in the month, state budget writers are waiting to see if June revenue projections hit their mark.
In his revised budget in May, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger estimated more than $5.5 billion in income tax receipts and $2.1 billion in bank and corporation tax payments for June.
If June payments come in above estimates, the state’s $17.9 billion budget hole shrinks. Read more »
Senate Democrats Pitch Major Changes in State County Roles
Counties would be given a bigger share of responsibility for California’s welfare system as well as some public safety, drug treatment and elderly care programs currently run by the state under a budget plan proposed June 21 by Senate Democrats.
The plan, which would impose nearly $4.3 billion in current state costs on counties over four years, proposes covering the new county obligations through a combination of tax increases including a new tax on oil extraction and postponing the effective date of two tax breaks benefiting mainly large corporations approved as part of the 2009 budget compromise. Read more »
In the Interest of Full Disclosure, Don’t Forget Proposition 57
On June 17, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger invoked Proposition 58, approved by voters in March 2004, saying it prohibited the sort of borrowing contemplated in the budget plan of Assembly Democrats.
His comments came in response to an opinion, sought by the GOP governor, from Attorney General Jerry Brown saying the Assembly Democrats’ plan could be “suspect” under Proposition 58’s provisions. Read more »
Correction…
In the post below regarding campaign solicitations by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown, California’s Capitol erroneously stated that the Attorney General wants donors to contribute $20 each WEEK between now the November election to counter spending by his GOP rival Meg Whitman.
In fact, the solicitation sought is $20 PER MONTH. Read more »
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