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One of the intriguing early machinations of the still-very-far-way 2010 GOP primary is how Steve Poizner, Meg Whitman and Tom Campbell will come down on the budget package headed to the ballot in May. Yes, the insurance commissioner and former eBay chief have already blasted the package. But both are wealthy and could curry favor with the GOP base by actually spending some of their millions against it. On Wednesday, Campbell, a former budget director for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, officially endorsed the package, offering full-throated support for the spending cap measure, which would extend the tax increases by two years....

They're revolting. Families with children, bikers, seniors, pirates - by the thousands descended on a Fullerton bar Saturday to join talk show hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou of KFI in protesting tax increases recently approved in Sacramento. Police estimated that some 8,000 people came to the Slidebar Café in downtown Fullerton to listen to The John & Ken Show. "I expected a lot and it was way more than I expected," said co-host John Kobylt. The talk show hosts put forward an ambitious goal for their Tax Revolt 2009 live broadcast that ran for more than three hours. "The...

Ballot labels on two measures in the May 19 special election were altered Thursday after complaints that the Legislature's wording was misleading and biased in favor of their passage. The labels are seen as critical because voters often rely on them as their sole source of information. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny reworded part of the label for Proposition 1A, which would impose a state spending restriction and extend tax increases lawmakers approved as part of the budget deal last month. The original ballot label made no mention of the tax increase extensions and portrayed the spending cap as...

When someone proposes an initiative ballot measure, the attorney general gives it an official title and summary. There's always been much political angst, as well as legal wrangling, over the wording of controversial issues. . . . When the Legislature places a measure on the ballot, however, it often bypasses the attorney general by specifying the ballot title and even indirectly designating those who write ballot pamphlet arguments. In other words, the Legislature, in league with the governor, tries to fix the election by fixing how measures are portrayed. Cases in point are the six measures that the Legislature and...

Likely voters in the May 19 special election initially support six ballot measures designed to complete the budget recently approved by lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, according to a Field Poll released Tuesday. But the poll found voters aren't thrilled with the spending plan and are in a pessimistic mood that could haunt backers of the budget fix. The most crucial fiscal component, a $5 billion California Lottery borrowing plan in Proposition 1C, has the weakest support among the six measures, with only 47 percent of likely voters for it. And when told that the "rainy-day" measure, Proposition 1A, triggers...

...the tax hikes that are a big part of the package somehow failed to make their way into print in the ballot summary that voters will see when they go to the polls in a special election May 19. In all, voters are being asked by the governor and Legislature to approve six measures to fix the state's $41 billion budget problem.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he "absolutely" loves the idea of holding a constitutional convention to overhaul state government. California hasn't had such a confab in 131 years. ... The Republican governor would like the convention to consider, among other things, eliminating some statewide offices -- like treasurer, controller, superintendent of public instruction and, especially, lieutenant governor, all currently held by Democrats. "It makes no sense that the governor is surrounded by constitutional officers who are trying to derail him," Schwarzenegger says. "Look at the way the nation runs: The president appoints those Cabinet positions." ... Meanwhile, two blocks from the...

If voters rely solely on ballot arguments when deciding in May whether to pass a constitutional limit on state spending, they will miss the fact that the measure also would extend higher sales, vehicle and income taxes by up to two more years. Legislative leaders so far have successfully omitted the fact that Proposition 1A will essentially trigger up to $14 billion in additional taxes from July 2011 to June 2013. Although Republican legislators submitted ballot arguments against the proposal emphasizing billions of dollars in tax increases, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, chose a Democratic legislator to pen...

The pictures told the story. They were laughing, back slapping and sharing high fives all around. It could have been Butch Cassidy and the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang celebrating a successful train robbery. Only these were malefactors of another sort. They were members of the Legislature expressing their joy immediately after agreeing to make California taxpayers the most overburdened in the nation for at least the next two years. Lawmakers and the governor, who was equally eager to get his hands on the new tax revenue, sought to make the bitter medicine taste better by promising the new taxes were temporary --...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. "History will remember this night, when Californians demanded a new transportation system for California's 21st century travel needs. Thanks to tonight's vote, a state-of-the-art, new transportation choice will link every major city in the state and move people and products like never before. The citizens of California have put the 21st century golden spike in the ground with a clear affirmation of high-speed trains. As chairman of the High-Speed Rail Authority, I pledge to honor the spirit of those who established our state's pioneering transportation system, by working to build a first-in-the-nation high-speed train system to benefit future...

When Californians go to the polls in November, they’ll finally vote on a project they’ve heard about since 1995: high-speed rail. Proposition 1A asks state voters to approve $10 billion in bond sales to start construction the largest public works project in state history: an 800-mile rail system that would run from San Francisco to Los Angeles with stops in Bakersfield, Fresno and other Central Valley cities. Local support comes form groups and individuals who see the need for better a transportation system and the regional economic benefits it will bring. But with a hefty price tag — about $33...

Even in the best of times, the three major bond proposals on the November ballot would merit a thumbs down. Propositions 1A, 3, and 10 would put taxpayers another $16 billion in debt to fund some dubious projects. Proposition 1A spends $10 billion as a down payment on a massive bullet train project. Promoters, which includes the company responsible for Boston's infamous "Big Dig" disaster, claim the project can be completed for about $50 billion. However, a just released study by transportations experts, which includes a former president of the High Speed Rail Association and a former member of the...

Sacramento -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who promised not to sign any bills until lawmakers reach a budget deal, reversed his position today and signed a bill for a statewide bullet train system that he strongly supports. The governor also wants to make exceptions for three other proposals that he has been promoting: budget reform; changing the state lottery to allow California to borrow against future ticket sales; and a bond proposal for water infrastructure. The high-speed rail legislation will replace a $10 billion bond measure on the November ballot with a revised version of the proposal that makes the bullet...

Sacramento, CA (AP) -- Backing off his pledge to sign no bills before lawmakers adopt a state budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday approved legislation designed to strengthen wording of the high-speed rail bond measure on the Nov. 4 ballot.

"YES ON 1A STOPS OUR EXISTING GAS TAXES FROM BEING USED FOR OTHER PROJECTS." That, jarring capital letters and all, is a direct quote from Proposition 1A, which California voters approved last fall along with four infrastructure bonds. The argument for Proposition 1A also told us that the measure "closes the loophole in the law and ensures that the gas taxes you already pay are spent only on transportation projects benefiting California's 20 million drivers." That was the line. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state's legislative leaders knew voters would be reluctant to approve $40 billion in bonds, for fear...

Governor aims to apply extra gas tax funds toward bridges, school buses Attempting to revamp a decades-old tax-control provision, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has drawn fire from public transportation advocates who like the idea of high gas prices automatically pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into buses, trains and ferries. Using an arcane formula that weighs gasoline sales tax revenue against sales tax on other goods, a 1971 law negotiated with then-Gov. Ronald Reagan diverts any additional tax receipts into a fund for public transportation. True to his reputation, Reagan demanded rigid controls on the 4.75-percent tax on gasoline feeding the...

Welcome to the live thread for the California Primary Election. Polls are open until 8pm tonight. If you are a registered voter, it is your duty to vote and defend your rights and civil liberties, protect your pocketbook, and vote the bums out where applicable. Feel free to discuss issues key to your local area that others may be interested in. Post your polling place experiences if you like. And post numbers as they come in later tonight.

The quick-paced television commercials for the infrastructure bond measures make promises that voters can't count on. Proponents of Propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E are running 11 versions of the same ad, which feature different lists of transportation projects based on the region in which the commercials air. In the Bay Area ad, the announcer promises the bond measures will "expand the Caldecott Tunnel, improve 101 and 880, and extend BART and Caltrain." But representatives of Bay Area transportation agencies say that isn't necessarily how they'll spend the money. Projects meeting those broad descriptions are among the Bay Area's...

So, without any further words, here is the Voter Guide:BALLOT MEASURES NOVEMBER 2006 - SUMMARYThe FR and Bill Leonard recommend: Proposition 1A = YESProposition 1B = NOProposition 1C = NOProposition 1D = NOProposition 1E = NOProposition 83 = YESProposition 84 = NOProposition 85 = YESProposition 86 = NOProposition 87 = NOProposition 88 = NOProposition 89 = NOProposition 90 = YES

CBS) SHERMAN OAKS Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger urged Tuesday voters to support a $37.3 billion plan on the November ballot to improve California's roads, schools and levees. The governor appeared at the Sherman Oaks Galleria to build support for Propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E, which together represent a multibillion-dollar plan to overhaul the state's infrastructure. "California has always been an economic, environmental and technological leader, and this November we have the historic opportunity to make sure we continue this trend by building the roads, schools, levees and housing of the future," Schwarzenegger said. Proposition 1A would protect Proposition 42...