April Tax Collections Nearly $2.5 Billion Short, Controller Says

 California’s cash balance, receipts and disbursements in California’s April tax collections were $2.44 billion below the estimates contained  in Gov. Jerry Brown’s January budget plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1, State Controller John Chiang said May 8 in his monthly cash balance report.

“The task of crafting a credibly-balanced budget has been made more difficult by a nine-month revenue shortfall of $3.5 billion,” said Chiang in a statement.    Read more »

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Happy Birthday Maestro Machiavelli!

May 3, 1469 is the birthday of Niccolo Machiavelli, the political philosopher, whose book The Prince has come to be synonymous with the axiom that the end justifies the means.

Born in Florence, Machiavelli attempts in his most famous book, in the words of Bertrand Russell, to “discover, from history and from contemporary events, how principalities are won, how they are held and how they are lost.”    Read more »

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“Absentee Florist” Bill Advances

An almost perennial effort to prevent florists from misrepresenting the location of their business was approved by the Assembly on May 3.

Sent to the Senate on a bipartisan 60-11 vote by the 80-member lower house, the bill is the fifth such measure in 13 years to prevent call centers, potentially located hundreds or thousands of miles away, from using a local city or neighborhood in their name and duping consumers into believing they are patronizing a “local” florist.    Read more »

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Why Don’t You Go Foie Gras Yourself!

(Editor’s Note: It is always a pleasure for California’s Capitol to showcase the erudition and linguistic élan of former Senate President Pro Tempore John Burton, who now heads the state Democratic Party. While background on the issue which is the subject of the missive below isn’t  necessary to appreciate the contents, here’s a synopsis:)

In 2004, a bill by Burton — SB 1520 — was signed into law which said that, effective July 1, 2012, it was illegal for birds including, but not limited to, a duck or goose to be forced to “consume more food than a typical bird of the same species would consume voluntarily” in order to enlarge their liver “beyond normal size.”    Read more »

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California’s Population is Now Almost 37.7 million

California’s population grew by almost 251,000 new residents in 2011 – a 0.7- percent growth rate – to total 37,679,000 as of this January 1st, according to a new population report released May 1 by the Department of Finance.

The City of Los Angeles, California’s largest city, has a population of 3,825,297.    Read more »

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Happy Belated Birthday Governor Young!

Governor Clement Calhoun Young, born April 28, 1869, was an English teacher at Lowell High School in San Francisco before he entered politics.

His January 1927 inaugural address and two lengthy biennial messages to lawmakers in 1929 and 1931 reflect both his professorial background and his political experience.

Young, a Republican, is California’s last “Progressive” governor.    Read more »

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Pet Lovers License Plate Advocates Win a Reprieve

Gov. Jerry Brown gave spay and neuter advocates an extra year to get 7,500 Californians to buy a “Pet Lover’s” license plate.

The Democratic governor signed legislation April 26 giving Social Compassion in Legislation, a non-profit trying to reduce pet overpopulation, more to reach the 7,500 minimum number of orders before the Department of Motor Vehicles will being stamping what it calls “special interest” license plates.    Read more »

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Legislative Analyst Says April Revenues $2 Billion Short, Budget Hole Climbs to $12 Billion

April tax collections will fall at least $2 billion short of estimates, worsening the state’s already $10 billion budget hole by a like amount, legislative budget writers said April 25.

The Legislative Analyst says that by April 30 tax revenues for the fiscal year that began July 1 will be $3 billion short of projections.    Read more »

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Tax Collections Falling Off, Bigger Budget Hole More Likely

 With five more days left in the month, state income tax collections are dropping off, increasing the odds the state’s budget hole will grow.

As of April 25, the Franchise Tax Board has received just under $6.5 billion in payments this month — $1.9 billion less than Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget predicts the agency will receive through April 30.    Read more »

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The Legislature Decides If the Budget It Passes Is Balanced, Court Rules

If lawmakers say they have passed a balanced budget – even if it isn’t — by June 15, they won’t have their pay docked under a tentative ruling by a Sacramento Superior Court judge issued April 24 (See Page 7).

Superior Court Judge David Brown said the Legislature has the sole authority to pass a budget and, under the constitution, if lawmakers say their budget is balanced – it is.    Read more »

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