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HARRISBURG – Senator David G. Argall (R-29) announced legislation today that would reduce the size of the state legislature by more than 20 percent. Argall’s proposal would eliminate 10 House seats each decade through 2053. It would also eliminate five Senate seats. The legislation would ultimately trim the size of the Senate from 50 members to 45 and the House of Representatives from 203 members to 153.

There is absolutely no way I’ll be able to make this relevant to tech. But I’m posting it anyway. Our Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, vetoed a California legislative finance bill – AB 1176. The letter is terse and to the point. And the first letter of each line in paragraphs 2-3 are even terser and more to the point. Schwarzeneggers battles with the state legislature are epic. But this just goes way beyond epic. It’s something for the history books. (click the link to view the message...)

I’m not sure which is most amusing about Bill Lockyer’s rant to the state legislature this week. Is it his assertion that Democrats have to call out other Democrats when they run off the rails? Perhaps his telling them that two-thirds of what they produce is “just junk”? Insisting that more taxes won’t solve their problems, and that they have to start looking for ways to save money instead? Actually, all of that and more is just simple truth. Watch this first and see if you catch my favorite moment in this clip: CLICK ABOVE LINK TO VIEW THE SHORT...

California voters have never thought less of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state Legislature, according to a Field Poll to be released today. Despite that, a strong majority of poll respondents favor the governor's move to call a special session of the Legislature to deal with California's water crisis and tax reform issues. "It's really a cry of desperation," said Barbara O'Connor, a political science professor at Sacramento State University. "It's ironic. Voters don't like them, they don't trust them, but they want them to come back to Sacramento and solve their problems." Only 27 percent of poll respondents approve...

Pennsylvania legislators may be relieved just to have a budget in place after a 101-day impasse, but one group of citizens wants to throw them out of office and start from scratch. A petition asks the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to invoke a provision of the state constitution to dissolve the General Assembly within 45 days and convene a constitutional convention to establish a new elective body. Proponents want to replace the current crew — 50 state senators and 203 house members — with a single chamber of no more than 70 members. Current assembly members would be barred from serving...

With U.S. unemployment at a 26-year high of 9.8 percent, the focus in Congress is increasingly on ways to help create and preserve jobs. Given that many economists expect the national jobless rate to continue going up well into 2010, this makes sense. Given that Democratic lawmakers worry that they may lose control of the House next year unless unemployment declines, there are also strong political motives to do something. But this must, repeat, must not include a new economic “stimulus” bill on top of the wasteful, poorly focused, pork-filled $787 billion measure approved in February. The New York Times...

September 29, 2009 Group Seeks To Scratch Plan For Part-Time California Legislature Steve Wiegand Sep. 29, 2009 Once upon a time - when new Volkswagen Beetles cost $1,825 and were fueled by 34-cent-a-gallon gasoline - California's legislators were part-time workers. That was 43 years ago. In November 1966, voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment that gave legislators full-time positions. And nowadays, it seems, they never go home. In 2007, the Legislature met virtually the entire year, anchored in Sacramento by a regular session, a protracted budget fight and special sessions on water and health care. In 2008, lawmakers were in...

Hoping the end of the regular legislative session will provide a breather from hot-button issues around the Capitol? Don't hold your breath. The Commission on the 21st Century Economy meets in Berkeley today to continue tinkering with its recommendations for overhauling the state's tax system. At last week's meeting, commission members cast their plan as a "general approach" that will most likely merit more scrutiny and changes from the Legislature. That's a bad sign for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who wanted lawmakers to take up the panel's plan with an up-or-down vote during a special session he's said he'll call later...

A "pandemic response bill" currently making its way through the Massachusetts state legislature would allow authorities to forcefully quarantine citizens in the event of a health emergency, compel health providers to vaccinate citizens, authorize forceful entry into private dwellings and destruction of citizen property and impose fines on citizens for noncompliance. If citizens refuse to comply with isolation or quarantine orders in the event of a health emergency, they may be imprisoned for up to 30 days and fined $1,000 per day that the violation continues.

Aura dazzles, but argument gets things done. Consider the debate on the Democrats' health care bill and the increasingly negative response to Barack Obama's performance. Democrats have the numbers to pass a health care bill -- 256 votes in the House, 38 more than the 218 majority; 60 votes in the Senate, enough to defeat a filibuster. But they haven't come up with the arguments, at least yet, to put those numbers on the board. It's something not many predicted that bright January inauguration morning.

In 1776, the rallying cry was, "No taxation without representation." Today, it could be, "No taxation without totally clueless representation."

That's what Nancy Pelosi promised the Dems Congress would be back in 2006. How's that working out? Check this AP story. "House Democrats muzzle GOP on sensitive issues" "Muzzle?" Well, at least I'm sure it's an honest, ethical and open muzzling. Actually, it turns out Pelosi's Congress is not even honest, ethical or open with members of its own party.

National Rifle Association Arizona - -(AmmoLand.com)- The Arizona Senate passed three important self-defense bills in a session that lasted into the early morning hours Wednesday. First, SB 1113 enables law-abiding Right-to-Carry permit holders to carry firearms for self-defense in restaurants. This NRA-backed bill passed by an overwhelming, bi-partisan majority of 19-8 and will now be sent to Governor Jan Brewer’s (R) desk for her consideration. “If this important, common-sense legislation is signed, Arizonans will have the ability to defend themselves and their families from criminal attack in restaurants,” said NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox. “Headlines remind us that restaurants...

Unparalleled in the history of American political corruption is the backwards collection of scoundrels, scallywags, hooligans, rascals and charlatans collectively known as the Louisiana State Legislature. So seeing a rapper blasting profane lyrics in their chamber is—Very funny! How exactly this happened is still sort of unclear, but the gist of it is that the state decided to honor "Hurricane Chris," a Shreveport, Louisiana native, for all of his recent success by giving him the floor of the state House of Representatives for a few minutes, rather than say, naming a meaningless street after him or giving him the key...

Gerry Stoltzfoos is a man of faith - but not the type who preaches constantly with in-your-face theology. Even the Gettysburg church where he serves as lead pastor is designed more as a gathering hall than as a shrine full of religious imagery. But when it comes to prayer, Stoltzfoos is steadfast in his approach of speaking directly to and addressing by name the Christian God he worships. "I think prayer is talking to God, so when I pray, I try to talk to him," said the pastor of Freedom Valley Worship Center. However, that principle clashed recently with a...

California lawmakers passed a budget in February, but as the nation's economic downturn continued, so did the state's balance sheet. Over the past several months, state analysts predicted that in the 2009-10 fiscal year - which begins July 1 - the state would receive between $21.3 billion and $24.3 billion less than what it needed to cover spending in the February budget. That sent Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the legislature back to drawing board to find ways to spend less or bring in more money. On Wednesday, about a month after Schwarzenegger announced his budget proposal, the Democratic-controlled legislature released...

The Oregon Senate has failed to pass legislation that would increase taxes in the state to raise 733 billion in revenue. The bill failed due to one vote. That of Democrat Senator Mark Hass. The legislation required a 2/3rds majority and was the Democrats cornerstone for balancing the State Budget. Looks as if they will be forced to take a more conservative path, that of living within the State's means to balance the budget. Lets send him flowers shall we?

Breaking news 4:24 PM N.H. legislators OK gay marriage The governor is expected to sign the bill, which would make New Hampshire the sixth state to legalize gay marriage.

AFSCME is passing out info in State office buildings to call state legislators and SEIU, AFSCME, and Obama's the rest of OBama's Acorn crew are running commercials for higher taxes

Click here to watch the videoTalk on Nevada host Andy Matthews interviews Geoffrey Lawrence, NPRI's fiscal policy analyst, on Nevada's budget situation. Geoffrey is the author of Nevada's Freedom Budget: 2009-2011, which would fund priorities, eliminate waste and save Nevada over $1.7 billion compared to the legislature's budget. Andy and Geoffrey also talk about legislature's proposed job-killing, record-setting, billion dollar tax increase,

New Hampshire lawmakers unexpectedly rejected a bill on Wednesday that would have made the state the sixth in the United States to authorize gay marriage. The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives voted down the bill in a 188-186 vote, hours after its Senate approved the legislation 14-10 along party lines. An earlier version of the bill passed the state's House of Representatives on March 26. Both chambers had been asked to approve language that would give religious institutions opposed to gay marriage legal protections, including the right to decline to marry same-sex couples. That wording was added by Governor John Lynch,...

Recently the Hawaii State Legislature recognized September 24th as "Islam Day" through the passage of House Concurrent Resolution 100 and House Resolution 79. It has been argued that it was necessary to recognize Islam in order to promote religious tolerance, but if that is true, why did the Legislature fail to even give a hearing to House Bill 1282 and Senate Bill 136 which would have established "Religious Freedom Day" in Hawaii for the celebration of not one, but all faiths and religions in Hawaii? The decision to pick a day to honor a single religion versus a day that...

Headline from Inside Nevada Politics: Core group meeting melts down again.Legislative leadership's core group meeting disbanded again without an agreement on how much to fund higher education, the last remaining budget lawmakers must settle in their alternative to Gov. Jim Gibbons' $6.2 billion budget. Several lawmakers left the meeting visibly upset as a deadline for finishing the budget in time to override Gibbons' veto looms.Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford seems to be the cause of the frustration. Democrats in the state Assembly and Republicans in both houses agree on a plan to cut higher education by 13 percent, but Senate...

HB 2186 A has been passed, 32 yea, to 28 Nay. Say goodbye to the possibility of economic prosperity in the State of Oregon. Among HB 2186 provisions are sections that will impact Oregonians for decades to come, regardless of the fact that it sunsets in 2020.

As those following the insanity in the Oregon Legislature know, House Bill 2186 A Engrossed is scheduled for a floor debate and vote today. According to the House Clerks Office, and a glance at the floor schedule reveal, it is unlikely that the bill will be heard today. There are a total of 27 House Bills that were carried over from May 6th to today, and those bills will be considered first. The Clerk's office reports that the House Bill Schedule will be cleared tomorrow, meaning that they will hear and vote upon every bill to clear this legislative schedule...

Thursday is the day. May 6 2009 is going to be very interesting. House Bill 2186 will be brought to the floor of the House for a vote, if it passes, it will move on to the senate, where Senate Bill 80 can be attached. If 2186 makes it as far as the senate, the attachment of SB 80 is very likely. There is still time to contact your local House of Representatives member. Oregon's economy and future hang in the balance. Those elected officials, as is the case in so many area's of the state are completely out of...

A Catholic state legislator in Texas has introduced shocking new legislation that would effectively reduce infanticide to a fineable offense for the first 12 months of a baby's life. The bill states that if a mother kills her own child within the child's first 12 months of life due to past partum depression, the murder would be downgraded and punishable by relatively short jail stay and/or a fine. The bill, according to the House Committee Report, would amend the Penal Code relating to the punishment stage of a trial in which a defendant is guilty of causing the death of...

For a scant few moments this week, I felt that our state legislature had finally gotten the message. Leadership begins at the top and “painful” cost-cutting measures should start there. The reason for my jubilance came in the form of Senate Bill 44 which would’ve begun the elimination of those frivolous do-nothing boards and commissions which merely serve as “weigh-stations” with six figure salaries for termed out over-the-hill lawmakers. A companion bill was introduced in the Assembly.

Given some of the other stuff Ralston's written, I don't think it's intentional. But has there ever been a better reason to keep more money in the hands of the citizens and not in those of the politicians? I want to believe that despite the collection of irredeemable nincompoops, borderline criminals and self-interested cowards, some legislators actually want to be thoughtful and responsible in dealing with the state’s budget problems. I want to be believe that some of the term-limited folks don’t see the end as simply a new beginning to search for other elective jobs. I want to believe...

RALEIGH North Carolina's meat industries are battling a bill the Humane Society of the United States and its vegan president say is meant to protect puppies, warning instead that it is the first step toward ending meat eating as we know it. The Humane Society has made North Carolina a top priority in the fight for tougher animal welfare laws, for the first time deploying a lobbyist to work a full session of the state legislature. Agribusiness groups predict a repeat of the tighter farm animal laws that California approved last year in a Humane Society-backed voter referendum. That measure...

A vote is looming this week in Congress on a bill that one conservative activist warns would not only silence Christian opposition to homosexuality, but also would legitimize deviant forms of "sexual orientation." A markup vote is expected Wednesday in the House Judiciary Committee on the Local Law Enforcement and Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. House Democrats only have to give 24-hours notice before the vote. The measure (H.R. 1913) sponsored by Representatives John Conyers (D-Michigan) and Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) would add homosexuals and transgender people to the list of classes federally protected from so-called "hate crimes."

Proposed legislation would increase statute of limitations for bigamy, change rules for child abuse investigations. A year after a massive child welfare raid at a West Texas ranch run by a polygamist sect, some legislators want to rewrite the laws that guided the state's actions during an investigation into whether young girls there were being forced to marry older men.

About an hour into a public hearing at the Iowa Capitol over a proposal to eliminate federal deductibility, House Speaker Pat Murphy ordered state troopers to clear the four House galleries after hundreds of opponents refused to stop applauding, booing and hissing. "We require decorum in this chamber. We don't expect to have applauding and loud screaming and yelling," Murphy said. "We do and I do reserve the right to clear the chamber under any circumstances. The chair of this public hearing has requested the chamber cleared, and that is final. Please have the state troopers escort people from the...

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Same-sex domestic partners would have all of the rights and benefits that Washington offers married couples under a measure passed by the state Senate.

Bill #1098 has been introduced in the Connecticut legislature by Rep. Michael Lawlor and Sen. Andrew McDonald that orders the Catholic Church to reorganize. Its express purpose is “To revise the corporate governance provisions applicable to the Roman Catholic Church and provide for the investigation of the misappropriation of funds by religious corporations.” It specifies that each parish is to elect a board of directors to run all parish functions, thus stripping the Pastor of his authority.Catholic League president Bill Donohue responded as follows:“The Catholic League has been deluged with phone calls, e-mails and faxes from Catholics, as well as...

Lawmakers started doing their homework Thursday on how to circumvent any decisions the governor makes on the national economic package. Gov. Bobby Jindal said earlier this week that he still is deciding whether he will or will not accept money for Louisiana from the legislation pushed by President Barack Obama. Jindal and some other Republican governors have hinted they may reject some of the money set aside for their states in the federal spending package that was promoted and passed last week almost entirely by Democrats. Jindal said he is concerned about some of the strings that might be attached...

California senators began an around-the-clock lockdown Tuesday as a plan for easing massive money woes of the nation's most populous state remained stalled by a single vote. Senators spent more than two hours debating a plan to close the state's $40 billion shortfall, then they temporarily postponed a vote to buy time for continued negotiations. Stakes rose as the state began sending layoff notices to 20,000 state workers and braced for a shutdown of 374 construction projects valued at $5.58 billion if no budget is passed by today. [snip] Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg...

Lawmakers today review some of the most controversial portions of Gov. Jim Gibbons’ proposed Executive Budget — the 35.9 percent General Fund cut to higher education and proposed changes to state worker benefits. Chancellor Jim Rogers has said cutting $472.5 million from the $1.3 billion in state funding this biennium would “shut the system down.” Jim Richardson of the Nevada Faculty Alliance said the proposed budget would dismantle the system and “limit severely the educational opportunities for Nevadans to improve themselves.” Several lawmakers have already questioned the plan, including Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno. Rogers said it’s not possible...

When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the old "Kindergarten Cop" himself, accused the Legislature of acting like kindergarteners when the special session on the state's financial mess ended Tuesday in a rash of partisan name-calling and finger-pointing, he wasn't exactly being fair. The legislators were acting like politicians, who, unlike many 5-year-olds, really don't play well together. Take, for example, the Democrats' plan to raise money to close the budget gap. Schwarzenegger, after years of opposing any new taxes, had finally admitted that cuts alone couldn't solve the problem and braved the outrage of his fellow Republicans by proposing a 1-1/2 cent...

As the final embarrassing days of California's special legislative session slip away with no state budget solution in sight, the 40 members of the state Senate and 80 members of the Assembly have once again proved the wisdom of my call to abolish the Legislature. They are a worthless group that individually and collectively have ignored the state's toughest problems. On Tuesday's budget vote, some lawmakers didn't even bother to show up. The Democrats' budget bill didn't get the required two-thirds votes to pass and the Republicans didn't offer up an alternative. This is the best our lawmakers can offer:...

Governing style TBA: Whether its power is lasting or only temporary will depend on how ably and responsibly Republicans wield it. Republicans lost the White House Tuesday, but the Tennessee GOP captured majorities in both houses of the General Assembly. So now is the time to start ramming through legislation favored by party leaders that has been stalled for so many years in Democrat-controlled committees and subcommittees, right? Actually, the GOP's margin is slim -- a 19-14 advantage in the Senate and a 50-49 edge in the House. Members of the party would probably do themselves and the state a...

Rep. John LaBruzzo thinks that he and other Louisiana lawmakers ought to decide which citizens of this state should be encouraged to have children and which should not. He proposes giving college-educated people with higher incomes -- like Rep. LaBruzzo and his wife -- a tax incentive to have more children. But, he argues, poor Louisianians should be given financial incentives to undergo surgical sterilization -- either a tubal ligation or a vasectomy. The Metairie lawmaker hopes to put these ideas, which he describes as "brainstorming," into legislation aimed at ending generational welfare and reducing the burden poor people put...

Archbishop Alfred Hughes on Thursday denounced a Metairie lawmaker's proposal to pay poor people to undergo sterilization as "an egregious affront to those targeted and blatantly anti-life." "Our lawmakers would do better to focus on policies that promote education and achievement to counteract poverty and the bigotry of low expectations," Hughes said in a statement. Hughes spoke out in response to a proposal by state Rep. John Labruzzo, R-Metairie, to combat poverty by offering poor women and men $1,000 to undergo reproductive sterilization and vasectomies. In addition, the lawmaker said he is considering whether to propose tax incentives for college-educated...

Tying poor women's tubes could help taxpayers, legislator says Worried that welfare costs are rising as the number of taxpayers declines, state Rep. John LaBruzzo, R-Metairie, said Tuesday he is studying a plan to pay poor women $1,000 to have their Fallopian tubes tied. "We're on a train headed to the future and there's a bridge out," LaBruzzo said of what he suspects are dangerous demographic trends. "And nobody wants to talk about it." LaBruzzo said he worries that people receiving government aid such as food stamps and publicly subsidized housing are reproducing at a faster rate than more affluent,...

California lawmakers keep breaking records. Earlier this month, the Legislature surpassed the mark for state budget futility. Now Californians have given their legislators the worst rating in recorded state history. A Field Poll released Thursday showed only 15 percent of registered voters give the 120 lawmakers passing marks, while 73 percent disapprove of their job performance. "This is the lowest job (approval) rating recorded for anybody from any institution," said Mark DiCamillo, director of the 62-year-old Field Poll. "No one has ever gotten this low. Even Richard Nixon." The record budget standoff – now 74 days into the fiscal year...

Snarled in a record-long budget dispute that shows no sign of ending soon, California's Legislature is facing its lowest approval rating ever, according to a new Field Poll. More than 4 out of 5 voters also believe the state's $17.2 billion budget gap is a serious problem, the poll showed. Just 15 percent of the state's voters are happy with the job being done by the Assembly and state Senate, with 73 percent disapproving, said Mark DiCamillo, the poll's director. That's not only the lowest mark the poll has ever recorded for the Legislature, it's lower than any California governor...

SACRAMENTO - The Legislature's majority Democrats promised Wednesday to push a vote on a spending proposal containing several billion dollars in tax increases despite Republican opposition.

Gov. Bobby Jindal will have to repair his credibility after reneging on his promise to lawmakers not to veto a pay raise doubling their salaries, some of his key legislative leaders said Tuesday. Senate President Joel Chaisson II, D-Destrehan, and House Speaker Pro Tem Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans, said Jindal's sudden about-face on the pay raise will make it hard for some lawmakers to believe him in the future. "He needs to rebuild trust and do a better job of articulating his position," said Chaisson, who promised he will continue to work with the governor on key issues for...

Area lawmakers who opposed raising their pay praised Gov. Bobby Jindal’s veto of the volatile increase on Monday. But two Democratic lawmakers interviewed said Jindal broke his word and others said the veto may jeopardize his proposals in the Louisiana Legislature. “When someone gives you his word and takes it back, you lose a lot of respect,” said state Rep. Damon Baldone, D-Houma and a supporter of the increase. The legislation, Senate Bill 672, would have raised the pay package of rank-and-file lawmakers from about $38,000 per year to nearly $60,000. It was set to take effect today. But Jindal...

Yes, Mr. Jindal did make a blunder — and a big one — an unforgettable one. And then to say he could veto it, but he will not. To the general public, this is a slap in the face! When we see all the needs out there — Department of Social Services, the group homes, nursing homes — they are understaffed and underpaid. There is no money for the nursing-home workers, and they are working for a pittance. We wonder why there is such a large number of complaints. How are you going to get trained workers for the pay...