Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

State lawmakers are being urged to scale back the number of laws they propose [CA]
LA Times ^ | 6 Mar 2011 | Michael J. Mishak

Posted on 03/07/2011 9:59:25 AM PST by smokingfrog

*** Among the 2,323 bills introduced by lawmakers this year are ones to revise the definition of olive oil and enact 'Spay Day' to encourage spaying of animals. But Gov. Jerry Brown and others say that's too many as the state grapples with fiscal crisis. ***

Reporting from Sacramento — In addition to addressing the state's $25-billion deficit this year, the Legislature is making time for some other less pressing matters: Caffeinated beer. Spaceships. How to properly describe a dog pound.

Proposals on those subjects are among the 2,323 bills lawmakers have introduced this year. Others would revise the definition of olive oil and regulate the reflectivity of pavement to help curb global warming. There's a measure to create a "Parks Make Life Better" month.

"Spay Day," a bid to encourage the spaying and neutering of pets, has already received two legislative analyses and one committee vote (it passed). And there's a bill to provide new tax credits for commercial space vehicles being developed in the Mojave Desert.

The number of measures lawmakers are considering is slightly less than average. In fact, the volume has been dropping since a cap was applied in the early 1990s. But Gov. Jerry Brown, good-government activists and even some legislators say there are still too many, especially as California mulls deep cuts in services and possibly more taxes in its effort to balance the budget.

Like his predecessor, Brown has asked the Legislature to rein in its zeal for new laws.

"I definitely think there are too many laws, just as there are probably too many regulations," Brown said. "… We have chosen over our whole history to increasingly resort to laws, to lawyers and to courts — and it's a heavy burden."

One lawmaker has introduced a bill calling for fewer bills.

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: bills; fewer; jerrybrown; oliveoil; redtape; regulation

1 posted on 03/07/2011 9:59:29 AM PST by smokingfrog
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: smokingfrog; Slings and Arrows
One lawmaker has introduced a bill calling for fewer bills.

*snickers*

2 posted on 03/07/2011 10:01:36 AM PST by Ultra Sonic 007 (To view the FR@Alabama ping list, click on my profile!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Comment #3 Removed by Moderator

To: smokingfrog
--should also be confined to one subject and defined by simple sentences, no longer than two hundred words-

--best would be "_Former statute number '____________' is repealed "--

4 posted on 03/07/2011 10:04:48 AM PST by rellimpank (--don't believe anything the media or government says about firearms or explosives--)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: smokingfrog

It just shows that these fools have nothing else to do but redefine the definition of olive oil. They need to cut their time down in the capital to six months. Cut their pay also.


5 posted on 03/07/2011 10:04:55 AM PST by RC2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ultra Sonic 007
Proposals on those subjects are among the 2,323 bills lawmakers have introduced this year.

This year? Hell, this year is only 3 months old. At this rate, we'll have over 9,000 for the whole year.

6 posted on 03/07/2011 10:05:05 AM PST by umgud
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: smokingfrog

The CA legislature has the same problem all blue legislatures do: They stay in session too long. They’re in all year.

If they could cut their sessions back to two of three months, it would make a world of difference with regard to the number of bills entered.


7 posted on 03/07/2011 10:05:08 AM PST by RexBeach (There is no such thing as a good tax.- Winston Churchill)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: smokingfrog
The entire state is clinically insane!
8 posted on 03/07/2011 10:05:57 AM PST by mongo141
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: smokingfrog

Others would revise the definition of olive oil...

WTH does that even MEAN???

Olive Oil is not subject to definition by fiat, law, or statute.
The Oil from an Olive is Olive Oil, no matter what a bunch of Communist nanny staters believe.


9 posted on 03/07/2011 10:07:40 AM PST by bill1952 (Choice is an illusion created between those with power - and those without)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: RC2
They need to cut their time down in the capital to six months.

Ronald Reagan fought that battle decades ago. He resisted the idea of a full-time California legislature. Jess Unruh, who was all about power, eventually prevailed; which was the beginning of the end for California.

10 posted on 03/07/2011 10:22:45 AM PST by the_Watchman (Healthcare reform was never about health.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: All
We need an initiative that limits law makers to TWO bills per year.
11 posted on 03/07/2011 10:25:43 AM PST by troy McClure
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: smokingfrog

The fact is the constitution should have spelled out a maximum amount of laws that could be passed each year, the number 2 comes to mind. Also, there should have been a limit on how often they could meet, say once every two years for a period of 3 months max. The same holds true for the states constitutions.


12 posted on 03/07/2011 10:27:46 AM PST by calex59
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: smokingfrog

like telling crack addicts to ration their crack


13 posted on 03/07/2011 10:29:33 AM PST by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed .. Monthly Donor Onboard .. Obama: Epic Fail or Bust!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: RC2
these fools have nothing else to do but redefine the definition of olive oil.

It is not as innocuous as it looks. A redefinition of oil would include, I bet, some new producers (the sponsor's donors?) and exclude others. It's not about splitting hairs, I think: it's about who does and who does not fall under some regulation.

14 posted on 03/07/2011 11:27:31 AM PST by TopQuark
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: bill1952

It’s hard to believe but “olive oil” only means that there has to be some olive oil in the bottle. “Virgin olive oil” means that all the oil is olive oil. Don’t ask me. Ask the FDA..... the same people who allow monosodiumglutamate to be called “natural flavoring”.


15 posted on 03/07/2011 11:48:53 AM PST by Seruzawa (What's Democrat's legacy? Almost 1/2 million dead US soldiers and collapsed cities.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: RexBeach
The CA legislature has the same problem all blue legislatures do: They stay in session too long. They’re in all year.

Our blue legislature [WA] is in session three or four months (alternating) only. They can still cause damage, but the cutoffs mean that a lot of non-essential and bad stuff dies.

16 posted on 03/07/2011 12:16:58 PM PST by sionnsar (IranAzadi|5yst3m 0wn3d-it's N0t Y0ur5:SONY|http://pure-gas.org|Must be a day for changing taglines)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Ultra Sonic 007

o/~ California dreamin’... o/~


17 posted on 03/07/2011 12:50:57 PM PST by Slings and Arrows (You can't have Ingsoc without an Emmanuel Goldstein.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Seruzawa

U.S. Extra Virgin Olive Oil for oil with excellent flavor and odor and free fatty acid content of 0.8g per 100g;
U.S. Virgin Olive Oil for oil reasonably good flavor and odor and free fatty acid content of not more than 2g per 100g;
U.S. Virgin Olive Oil Not Fit For Human Consumption Without Further Processing is a virgin oil of poor flavor and odor;
U.S. Olive Oil is an oil mix of both virgin and refined oils;
U.S. Refined Olive Oil is an oil made from refined oils with some restrictions on the processing;

These grades are voluntary. Certification is available from the USDA on a fee-for-service basis.


18 posted on 03/07/2011 1:33:27 PM PST by bill1952 (Choice is an illusion created between those with power - and those without)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: smokingfrog

The California Legislature is insane. My wise father saw all of this coming when he urged others not to vote for a full-time California legislature back in 1966. No way California could be this screwed up if we still had a part-time legislature.

It used to be the CA legislature only met in even years to pass taxes and take on the budget. In odd years, they considered other, non-budgetary items. I don’t know how long they met. But they got a full-time legislature in 1966 with 3-out-of-4 Californians approving Prop 1A and it was all downhill from there.

Man, CA must have been dreamlike back in the 50s. Today, not so much. Nightmare like. These clowns passing thousands of idiotic new laws every year. I wish a governor would wave all existing law by executive order and we could start all over.

Jesse Ventura was a joke but he got 1 thing right. Every other year the legislature should meet and vote on laws to get rid of.


19 posted on 03/07/2011 3:23:09 PM PST by Freedom_Is_Not_Free (Don't confuse Obama's evil for incompetence.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson