A Tad More Revenue Than Expected In June — So Far Anyway

In a bright bit of budget news, income tax collections for June are running ahead of projections with $3.7 billion in estimated taxes received through June 20, according to the Franchise Tax Board.

Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget, unveiled in May, expected $3.6 billion to be collected by the Franchise Tax Board in June.    Read more »

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Politics on Tap with California’s Natural Resources Secretary John Laird, former state Water Resources Board Chair  Art Baggett  and Cynthia Cory of the California Farm Bureau

(Great Chemistry)    Read more »

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Today’s Latin Lesson Is Something Lawmakers Try to Squeeze Too Often

Ab Asino Lanam 

“Blood from a Stone”

(Literally: “Wool from an Ass”)    Read more »

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A Place Where the State Might Be Able to Cut Costs

California is now accepting bids through June 25 at 1:30 in the afternoon for “Knife Sharpening Services.”

That’s the title of Solicitation OSP 2012-8.

There are 14 pages of dos and don’t, wherefores, lists of necessary attachments and other requirements if a business wants to apply for a state contract.

Among them is compliance with a Sweatfree Code of Conduct, three references and adherence to the “Darfur Contracting Act” in which a bidder must certify they are not a “scrutinized” business as defined in Public Contract Code section 10476.    Read more »

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What Budget Did the Legislature Pass on June 15?

 Examining the prepared statements and floor speeches of various lawmakers in the wake of the passage of a budget bill June 15 it’s hard to tell what was actually voted on.

Sen. Bill Emmerson, a Hemet Republican who is the vice-chair of the upper house’s budget committee, said the spending blueprint was “full of borrowing and gimmicks.”    Read more »

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Mixed Metaphors

“This budget is a slow motion train wreck and you’re driving the bus.”

— Sen. Tom Berryhill, a Stanislaus Republican, during the June 15 budget debate referring to the ability of Democrats to pass the spending plan on a majority vote.     Read more »

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Video of Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg on the June 15 Budget Vote

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Kudos to Assemblyman Jim Nielsen

In an interview aired June 14 on KCRA-TV, the Biggs Republican, vice chair of the Assembly Budget Committee,  displayed his mastery of the Lexicon of Common Budget Words and Phrases by describing the budget as not only “kicking the can down the road” and “business as usual” but adding that the process lacked sufficient “transperancy.”    Read more »

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Budget Bills Being Considered in the Senate

 Here are the budget bills being considered in the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee on June 14.

They can be viewed individually here    Read more »

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Lexicon of Common Budget Words And Phrases

Accountability.

Assumptions. (See Overly Optimistic)

Balanced. Bipartisan. Best Practices.  Benchmark.

Business (Often preceded by Struggling and Small or both and followed by the phrase As Usual) 

Coalescing. Categorical. Compromise. Complicated. Concerns. 

Cuts. (Commonly used in conjunction with Spending but also Draconian and Difficult.)

Chronic (Used in conjunction with the phrase Budget Problems or Deficit.)    Read more »

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