Jerry Brown Digs Cemeteries

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation shoring up the finances of the Kern River Valley Cemetery District – the fifth cemetery district the Democratic governor has aided during the past two years.

Four of the five cemetery districts have seen business drop not because of falling mortality rates but because of competition from nearby, recently opened federal Veterans Administration cemeteries.    Read more »

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Wouldn’t News Be If the Democratic Majority Assembly Voted it Down?

Assembly Passes Corbett Bill Protecting Struggling Homeowners, Borrowers

SB 426 Clarifies Status of Debts Following Foreclosure

SACRAMENTO – Legislation that strengthens existing deficiency protections for borrowers after losing their homes in foreclosures passed from the Assembly floor earlier today (June 24, 2013). 

Authored by Senate Majority Leader Ellen M. Corbett, a Hayward Democrat, SB 426 specifically prohibits deficiency collections and adverse credit reporting on non-recourse loans following a non-judicial foreclosure.     Read more »

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Irony: Closed-Door Meeting to Discuss Disclosure of Public Documents

That’s what state senators did Thursday June 20 — held a 20-minute private meeting off the Senate floor to talk about a section of the mammoth budget, awaiting action by Gov. Jerry Brown, that media outlets complain imperils the state’s Public Records Act. (It doesn’t.)

The act requires timely disclosure of documents requested by the media or members of the public.    Read more »

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Buy California Fruit, Nuts, Vegetables, Cheese and Meat — Pretty Please

The “Choose California Act” was one of hundreds of Assembly bills volleyed into the Senate during the end-of-May frenzy before the deadline for legislation to leave its house of origin.

When it began its legislative life, the well-intentioned measure, AB 199, was eight paragraphs long. The bill sent to the Senate for its consideration on a 77 to 0 vote had been reduced to one, 30-word paragraph:

“All California state-owned or state-run institutions and all public universities, public schools and school districts in California are encouraged to purchase agricultural products grown in California to the extent possible.”    Read more »

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Still Two Shopping Days Left

Ten days past the official beginning of the “season,”  the California Legislature holds its annual White Suit Day Monday, June 10.

The poster below announcing the event, which bills itself as a celebration of  “summer and style,”  details the fashion rules regarding the wearing of  white suits:

“White suits are to be worn after Memorial Day and before Labor Day.    Read more »

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“We Need All Members on the Floor. All Members on the Floor Please.”

The above statement is periodically voiced by the presiding officer during meetings of the full Assembly.

It is not an order for members of the lower house to swiftly flatten themselves against the green carpet of their ornate chamber.

Nor does it signal some medical emergency, security breach or impending natural disaster.    Read more »

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Legislators On Legislative Achievements

Here are some unedited press releases of measures approved by the Assembly and Senate this week. With the exception of Assemblyman Holden’s measure most are being volleyed from one house to the next where they will be analyzed further before returning for final approval in their house of origin in early September: 

Assemblymember Holden’s First Bill Heads to the Governor’s Desk

AB 72 Municipal Water District Start Dates

Sacramento – Assemblymember Chris Holden’s bill to standardize the start date of newly elected Municipal Water District Directors has been approved by the State Legislature and is now on its way to Governor Brown for signature.     Read more »

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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.    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.    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.    Read more »

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