Piezoelectric Public Works Possibilities

An attempt to use the vibrations of vehicles on California’s streets and highways to generate electricity was among the legislation vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown.

The bill would have ordered the California Energy Commission to pay for research on piezoelectric technology to determine if it could efficiently create power for call boxes, roadside lights and other electrical needs.    Read more »

More

‘Siren Song’ Worked Once — Let’s Riff on It One More Time

(The other siren song veto message.)

To the Members of the California State Senate: 

I am returning Senate Bill 14 without my signature. 

This bill is another siren song of budget reform. It inflicts a “one size fits all” budget planning process on every state agency and function – even functions that aren’t actually managed by the state so long as they receive any “benefit” from it.    Read more »

More

“How Often Do Governors Say No?” — The October 2011 Official Update

Senate Committee on Governance & Finance

State Capitol, Sacramento, California 95814

October 10, 2011

 *****

How Often Do Governors Say No?

Each bill passed by the Legislature shall be presented to the Governor.  It becomes a statute if it is signed by the Governor.  The Governor may veto it by returning it with any objections to the house of origin, which shall enter the objections in the journal and proceed to reconsider it.     Read more »

More

A Veto Message that Is Classic Jerry Brown

To the Members of the California State Senate;

I am returning Senate Bill 547 without my signature.

This bill is yet another siren song of school reform. It renames the Academic Performance Index (API) and reduces its significance by adding three other quantitative measures.

While I applaud the author’s desire to improve the API, I don’t believe that this bill would make our state’s accountability regime either more probing or more fair.    Read more »

More

Brown Says No Warrant Needed for Cell Phone Searches

Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill Oct. 9 that would require search warrants before the contents of a person’s cell phone can legally be examined.

“Courts are better suited to resolve the complex and case specific issues relating to constitutional search-and-seizures protections,” Brown wrote in a three-sentence veto message.

The bill would have overturned a California Supreme Court decision issued in January that said law enforcement officers could lawfully search the cell phones of people who they arrest.    Read more »

More

A Key Reason Initiatives Will Only Be on the November Ballot

All initiatives will now only appear on the general election under legislation signed Oct. 7 by Gov. Jerry Brown.

But the main reason the Democratic governor signed the bill is to move a proposed spending limit from the June 2012 primary to the November 2014.

The measure, ACA 4, was part of the compromise that led to resolution – a record 100 days into the fiscal year – of last year’s budget fight.    Read more »

More

New Law Attempts to Ensure Extra Virgin Is Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Olive oil users will have a better chance of getting what they pay for under legislation signed OCtober 7 by Gov. Jerry Brown.

The new law tightens the definition of various calibers of olive oil, like “virgin” and “extra virgin” to conform with standards adopted by the USDA in October – the first federal olive oil updating since 1948.    Read more »

More

As Many as 20 State Parks Could Be Spared from Closure

As many as 20 state parks could get a reprieve from closure under a bill signed October 4 by Gov. Jerry Brown.

The bill authorizes the state Department of Parks and Recreation to sign contracts with nonprofit groups to operate state parks if that agreement will keep the park open.

“Particularly in these tough economic times, creative public/private partnerships are an essential tool in providing ongoing protection of, and continued access to, these treasured public assets,” said Assemblyman Jared Huffman, a San Rafael Democrat who authored the measure, AB 42.    Read more »

More

Gov. Brown Commutes Potential Death Sentence for Boating and Waterways Commission

California’s Credit Union Advisory Committee and the state Boating and Waterways Commission gained at least a temporary reprieve Oct. 3 when Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed legislation that could have eliminated the two.

The Democratic governor objected to one legislative body – the 10-member Joint Sunset Review Committee – making decisions on the size of the executive branch.    Read more »

More

Communication Fundamentals: Know Your Audience; Use Precise Language

The other day Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation that would impose a 1 percent annual fee on the sales of olive trees.

An identical fee is already levied against the sales of fruit trees, nut trees and grapevines which generates $1.4 million to conduct research into ways of improving the vine and tree crop industry.    Read more »

More