Legislature and Governor Hold Budgetary Love-In

The Legislative Analyst routinely takes governors to task for any number of deficiencies  — unrealistic forecasts, faux-savings and gimmickry, among them — contained  in the January spending plans of the executive branch. Not this year:

“Overall, the governor’s proposal would place California on an even stronger fiscal footing, continuing California’s budgetary progress,” the analyst says in its 42-page Overview of the Governor’s Budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.     Read more »

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The Challenges and Opportunities of Demographic Change

By Gov. Jerry Brown

In past decades, baby boomers have posed multiple challenges to the state beginning with building classrooms and training enough teachers, to developing a higher education system that would accommodate the infusion of young adults, to growing the economy fast enough so they could find employment. Even now, baby boomers continue to reshape society as they begin to leave the labor force.    Read more »

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New Budget Spends $65 Million on Illegal Immigrant Drivers Licenses

Providing up to 1.4 million driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants will cost $65 million for the Department of Motor Vehicles during the first six months after the law takes effect January 1, 2015, according to Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget plan released January 9.

Lawmakers had debated the issue of whether illegal immigrants should have licenses for 20 years prior to approving legislation to do so in September.    Read more »

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Might Be Trying to Distance Himself from the Governor

 

Vidak: Governor Brown, Why Don’t YouCome to Your Senses? SACRAMENTO – Senator Andy Vidak (R-Hanford) responded today to Governor Jerry Brown’s budget proposal to use cap-and-trade money to fund the High-Speed Rail (HSR) project with the following statement: 

Governor Brown, why don’t you come to your senses? 

In 2008, 52 percent of the electorate voted to pass Proposition 1A, which allowed the State of California to issue up to $9.95 billion in bonds to construct a high speed train.     Read more »

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(Must Be Good News Or He Wouldn’t Want to Say It Three Times)

Top Story UPDATED: Governor Brown to Introduce Budget on Friday in Sacramento, San Diego and Los Angeles

1-7-2014

Please note that news conferences have been added in San Diego and Los Angeles. 

SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. will introduce his 2014-15 budget proposal on Friday, January 10, 2014 at news conferences in Sacramento, San Diego and Los Angeles.SacramentoWhen:     Read more »

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Politics On Tap: One of the Best Conversations…

…Because Politics Barely Comes Up.

Assemblyman Mark Stone of Scott’s Valley, Sen. Jim Nielsen of Biggs and Christy Bouma, lobbyist for the California Professional Firefighters    Read more »

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“I Don’t See Your Name on the List”

 

(Editor’s Note: Happy New Year! Below is a small taste of 2014…) 

 

 

 

California is first in innovation, entertainment, technology, food safety, and environmental protection. But we trail the rest of the nation in voting.

I’m running for Secretary of State to change that, because our democracy is strongest when everyone participates, and the best progress is possible when all voices are heard.    Read more »

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Thank Goodness!

“It is not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results.”

– Warren Buffett    Read more »

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On December 23, 190 Years Ago…

“…a poem entitled ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas’ was published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel, an upstate New York newspaper. The unsigned poem began:

” ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.’

“For a long time, ‘A Visit from St.    Read more »

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A Less-Is-More or a More-Is-Less Legislature?

New Initiative Will Drastically Reform California Electoral Process

“Neighborhood Legislature” initiative cleared to gather signatures to qualify measure for the November 2014 ballot

(SACRAMENTO)—”California’s Secretary of State today gave the Neighborhood Legislature initiative the green light to begin gathering signatures to qualify the measure for the November 2014 election ballot. The revolutionary measure will re-draw legislative districts to create smaller Assembly and Senate districts with true local representation, which will, in turn, hold elected officials more accountable to the people they are elected to serve and drastically reduce the amount of money now required to run for office.     Read more »

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