http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/callegislature/ en-us Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:52:24 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281600/posts California State Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, a Democrat, did an interview with the LA Times. Thought you may enjoy her response to the following question: How do you think conservative talk radio has affected the Legislature's work? Bass' response: The Republicans were essentially threatened and terrorized against voting for revenue. Now [some] are facing recalls. They operate under a terrorist threat: "You vote for revenue and your career is over." I don't know why we allow that kind of terrorism to exist. I guess it's about free speech, but it's extremely unfair. Now that's a first. I know that politicians... NEALZ NUZE http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281600/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:52:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2277751/posts A California assemblyman has split from the Democratic Party as both houses of the Legislature head toward a contentious vote this week on a plan to bridge the state's $24 billion budget gap. Juan Arambula confirmed today that he has re-registered as an independent. Formerly a moderate within the Democratic caucus, Arambula is scheduled to be termed out next year from his Central Valley district, which encompasses portions of Fresno and Tulare counties. It is not immediately clear how Arambula's decision will affect the coming budget vote, which includes more than a dozen bills that will require a two-thirds majority... Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2277751/posts#comment Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:34:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276227/posts Do Californians suffer because they themselves have too much political power, and their representatives too little? Politicians tend to say “yes.” So do their hangers-on. George Mitrovich’s fiery indictment of California voters and policymakers for the San Diego Transcript, in a column entitled “The Failed State of California,” is an unsurprising example. According to Mitrovich, a self-avowed liberal Democrat, California’s humongous deficits and other troubles are the combined fault of Governor Schwarzenegger, voters, lawmakers, and special interests — an indictment so generalized that its sheer vacuity might pass for a selling point. But then you notice something. If voters, unions,... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276227/posts#comment Sun, 21 Jun 2009 12:51:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2273274/posts Tuesday, June 16, 2009 Lawmakers Reject State Worker Pay Cut By Jim Sanders A new across-the-board pay cut for state workers was rejected Tuesday by the Legislature's joint budget conference committee. The 5 percent salary reduction had been proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to save $470 million and preserve cash in the coming fiscal year's general fund budget. The legislative committee rejected the pay cut by a party-line vote, 6-4, with no Republican support. The measure was one of dozens under consideration to bridge a projected $24 billion budget shortfall. Even with the committee's action, the pay cut and other... Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2273274/posts#comment Wed, 17 Jun 2009 01:51:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2272620/posts Legislators' cars cost taxpayers $3.2 million in three years The cost includes gasoline and insurance coverage. Spouses and offspring are covered too. The benefits, rare outside California, may be curtailed. By Patrick McGreevy June 15, 2009 Reporting from Sacramento -- When not in a capital gripped by budget crises, state Sen. Ron Calderon can be found touring his San Gabriel Valley district in a Cadillac STS V8 Luxury Sports Sedan that the state bought for $54,830. The Democrat from Montebello spent an average $83 per week on gasoline last year, charged to California taxpayers on a state-issued card. When legislators'... LATimes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2272620/posts#comment Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:34:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2269547/posts Californians can brace for a new war over raising revenue to close the state's multibillion-dollar budget shortfall – the first shots are on their way. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass said Wednesday that her caucus is deciding among numerous revenue-raising options because the $24.3 billion shortfall is too large to bridge without an infusion. Bass and other Democratic lawmakers fear that mending the hole without new revenue would devastate the state's safety net. "You can't solve a deficit this big through cuts alone, considering all the cuts that have been made over the last few years," Bass said. The Los Angeles... Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2269547/posts#comment Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:46:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2267413/posts Democrats have remained coy on the idea of new taxes, but Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, told the Santa Cruz Sentinel last week that it is "not reasonable" for any legislator to rule out taxes . . . SacBee: Capitol Alert http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2267413/posts#comment Mon, 8 Jun 2009 19:40:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2264717/posts Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked lawmakers to blow up the boxes of government, and on Wednesday they obliged -- though not exactly as he envisioned. A legislative budget committee delayed action on many of Schwarzenegger's proposals for cutting waste, and instead took an ax to operations managed by the governor. They voted to get rid of entire departments and agencies under his authority. The committee voted to eliminate the Secretary of Education office, an appointed position that exists to help the governor on school issues. Lawmakers declared that the governor does not need such an office, as it overlaps with the... Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2264717/posts#comment Thu, 4 Jun 2009 16:38:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2264215/posts Assemblyman Roger Niello, who cast a key vote to pass a state budget that raised taxes this year, has been replaced as the GOP's point man on the Assembly Budget Committee. The Fair Oaks Republican will hand his committee post to Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber, who is a freshman in the lower house but served a dozen years in the Senate, leaving in 1990. The switch was made by the Assembly's new Republican leader, Sam Blakeslee of San Luis Obispo, who has stressed that taxes cannot be raised again in tackling a $24.3 billion shortfall. Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2264215/posts#comment Thu, 4 Jun 2009 00:07:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2259186/posts SACRAMENTO -- Former state Senate leader Don Perata, who has been the target of a five year-long FBI corruption investigation, will not be charged with any crimes, sources told The Chronicle today. In declining to indict the 64-year-old Oakland Democrat, federal prosecutors in Sacramento put an end to a wide-ranging FBI probe into whether Perata had taken hundreds of thousands of dollars of kickbacks in return for actions he took as a legislator and as president pro tem of the Senate. Perata announced in March that he would run for mayor of Oakland in 2010. The government's decision not to... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2259186/posts#comment Wed, 27 May 2009 17:49:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2257420/posts By a nearly two to one margin, California voters rejected the “compromise” tax hike propositions put on the ballot by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and the Democratic majority of the state assembly. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) called voters’ rejection of the measures “a tragic error.” “It’s a demonstration of lack of trust in those of us charged with governing this state,” Bass said. “We tried to minimize the pain. Now, it will be severe.” “Now we will get to see how voters like having their kids home early from school, paying for their own medicine, dodging the thousands... A Semi-News/Semi-Satire from AzConservative http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2257420/posts#comment Sun, 24 May 2009 18:23:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2255414/posts Boy oh boy, did California voters show bickering state officials a thing or two with their slam-dunk downing of five out of six financial propositions in Tuesday's voting. As The Ticket reported then, they didn't just say No; they said No way! In rapid response, first thing Wednesday something called the California Citizens Compensation Commission announced on a 5-1 vote that it had slashed the salaries of the governor, attorney general, controller, all legislators and other top elected state officials by 18%. That's nearly 20%! Whacked. Because in a democracy top elected officials should share the hard times and pay... Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2255414/posts#comment Thu, 21 May 2009 13:02:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2255251/posts Here are some partial quotes: "Voters were very confused on what we were asking them to do" "Voters were saying: "It was quite complex" "This is too complicated" "We don't want to vote on it" "We are fatigued with the number of elections we have had, especially Special Elections" "We realize that there are going to be cuts but whatever needs to be done, you do it, and we don not want to participate in it." What an arrogant condescending twit. And she still doesn't get it. I sent her a "nice" message. http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/Speaker/ YouTube http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2255251/posts#comment Thu, 21 May 2009 04:07:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2255219/posts BURBANK, Calif. — A commission has voted to cut future salaries of California lawmakers and other state elected officials by 18 percent, a day after voters offered their own rebuke. The action by the California Citizens Compensation Commission will have no immediate effect. It comes three weeks after the panel deadlocked over whether to cut salaries by 10 percent, in part because several positions were unfilled. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger filled those vacancies immediately afterward, setting the stage for Wednesday's 5-1 vote. The commission is prohibited from cutting officials' pay in midterm, meaning current lawmakers and elected officials will maintain their... San Diego Union-Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2255219/posts#comment Thu, 21 May 2009 03:21:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2255114/posts Citing pay decreases and layoffs being imposed on rank-and-file state workers, the California Citizens Compensation Commission approved the reduction, which also applies to the state attorney general, superintendent of public instruction, controller, insurance commissioner, treasurer, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and members of the Board of Equalization. "I think they should share in the sacrifices that everyone else has had to encounter," Commissioner Kathy Sands, a former Auburn mayor, said after the panel's 5-1 vote at a meeting in Burbank. The commission had wanted to decrease current officials' pay, but the panel's attorney said California law does not allow that.... Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2255114/posts#comment Thu, 21 May 2009 00:13:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2255038/posts BURBANK - Declaring that elected officials must share the pain of California's fiscal crisis, an independent commission voted today to impose an 18 percent pay cut for statewide elected officials and all members of the Legislature. The California Citizens Compensation Committee, which sets salaries for state officers, earlier voted in favor of a more modest 10 percent pay cuts in an April 29 meeting in Sacramento. But the action couldn't stand because the seven-member board lacked the required four votes. But today the commission voted 5-1 to make a deeper reduction in elected officials' salaries because of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's... Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2255038/posts#comment Wed, 20 May 2009 22:50:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2254951/posts A state panel this morning slashed the salaries of elected state officials by 18% -- a day after voters rejected a plan by the governor and Legislature to address the budget crisis. Citing pay cuts and layoffs being imposed on rank-and-file state workers, the California Citizens Compensation Commission approved the reduction for the governor, legislators and other state officials elected next year. "I think they should share in the sacrifices that everyone else has had to encounter," said Commissioner Kathy Sands, a former Auburn mayor, after the panel's 5-1 vote at a meeting in Burbank. The commission had wanted to... LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2254951/posts#comment Wed, 20 May 2009 20:27:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2254882/posts He promised to make it work by cutting 'waste, fraud and abuse.' It was never that easy. The real solutions are obvious, though. One: Eliminate, or at least loosen substantially, the two-thirds legislative requirement to pass a budget or raise taxes. This rule has allowed a tiny Republican minority to hold up all budget progress. Two: Remove legislative term limits. Three is the Big One: Revise Proposition 13. Prop. 13 is often described as a tax-cutting measure, but that scarcely does justice to the damage it has caused. LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2254882/posts#comment Wed, 20 May 2009 19:08:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2252799/posts The end of Washington’s spending spree may soon come thanks to incautious California. The day care center known as the California Legislature has led the State of Disaster to fiscal ruin. So bad is the situation here in the Shaky State that politicians - unable to balance the budget without bankrupting the taxpayers - rigged a series of ballot propositions to do jigger the books. ... Odds of these ballot measures passing is slightly below Hell’s sixth ring. If they fail, California’s $42 billion shortage combined with its junk bond rating would likely push the Land of Fruits and Nuts... Cowboy Confessional http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2252799/posts#comment Sun, 17 May 2009 20:06:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2251593/posts A bill declaring a Harvey Milk Day in California - to honor the slain gay rights figure - passed the state Senate today 24-14 and now goes to the Assembly. No surprise that all 23 Democrats present voted yes. But Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, changed his vote from a "no" on the same bill last year to the sole GOP "yes" on the floor Thursday. SacBee: Capitol Alert http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2251593/posts#comment Fri, 15 May 2009 14:50:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2246245/posts Saying it is time for new leadership, Assemblyman Mike Villines announced his resignation Thursday as head of the house's GOP caucus, effective June 1. Villines' replacement, expected to be Sam Blakeslee of San Luis Obispo Asked about Blakeslee, Villines called him "one of my best friends" and described him as "thoughtful, pragmatic but also very focused on conservative economic issues." The Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2246245/posts#comment Thu, 7 May 2009 17:36:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2243779/posts When Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg launched an effort this year to root out waste in state spending, he tapped a Sacramento attorney who is one of his best friends to lead it. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass turned to a termed-out assemblywoman and a politically connected former utility company executive, among others, to supplement her staff with outside expertise. The Legislature's nine personal service contracts – touted as a way to cuts costs in tough times – went largely to those with personal relationships or political ties to lawmakers. None of the nine contracts was competitively bid, so anyone... Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2243779/posts#comment Mon, 4 May 2009 14:32:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2242032/posts Sacramento -- California voters, frustrated by the recession and the state's fiscal crisis, gave Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature their lowest-ever approval ratings, according to the Field Poll released today. Only 33 percent of registered voters surveyed April 16-26 said they approved of Schwarzenegger's job performance, while 55 percent said they disapproved and 12 percent were undecided. Schwarzenegger's rating is his lowest since becoming governor in 2003. But the governor's numbers are better than the Legislature's approval rating, which sank to 14 percent, with 74 percent disapproving. It was lawmakers' worst rating since the Field Poll began tracking such... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2242032/posts#comment Fri, 1 May 2009 14:46:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2240706/posts If voters reject proposals May 19 to fix the state budget, GOP Senate leader Dennis Hollingsworth predicted Wednesday that "by default" his party's ideas for cutting public spending and easing business regulations will catch fire. "Eventually they're going to have to start listening," Hollingsworth, R-Murrieta, said of the Democratic majority in the state Legislature. "There won't be revenues available to do what they want to do. They're killing the Golden Goose." Speaking with reporters in his minority leader office, Hollingsworth said that if the set of six propositions on the ballot fail, the following day "it gets uglier." The GOP... SacBee: Capitol Alert http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2240706/posts#comment Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:15:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2228232/posts California politicians seeking and occupying seats in the Legislature and statewide office have raised more than $1 billion since 2000, despite a voter-imposed cap on campaign contributions, according to a critical new report by the state's campaign watchdog agency. "The $1,006,638,463 directly raised by officeholders and candidates works out to $344,503 per day or $14,354 per hour, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year," said Ross Johnson, chairman of the Fair Political Practices Commission, .. The FPPC's new report, entitled "The Billion Dollar Money Train," criticizes the vast sums of special interest money that has... Sac Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2228232/posts#comment Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:31:29 GMT