Gov. Brown's plan to tax the wealthy to raise new money for schools and public safety may California's revenue base even more volatile, as income taxes assume a greater share of the funding that the state depends upon.
From the LAT's George Skelton: "Until mid-March, Brown had been saying it would be more "fair" to tag the wealthy with a softer income tax hike and impose a stiffer sales tax increase on everyone. This plan would be "balanced," he insisted. "Everyone should share the burden."
"But then he hooked up with the liberal California Federation of Teachers, a soul mate of the 99 percenters. And Brown's original proposal was rewritten into the unbalanced version that's apparently headed to the ballot."
"I was curious whether Brown was correct about the most affluent doubling their share of California's income in the last three decades. I checked with the state finance department and the governor was on target, at least concerning the 1 percenters. In 1980, the top 1% of earners reaped 10.4% of the state's personal income. By 2010, according to newly released figures, their share had grown to 21.3%."
With the state budget in disarray, California's high-speed rail program is caught between the tight-fisted on one side and an enthusiastic governor on the other.
From Capitol Weekly's Amy Wong: "With billions of dollars at stake, California’s high-speed rail project is at a critical, do-or-die juncture: The Obama administration’s ultimatum to state lawmakers to fast-track the money resonates in the Capitol, but the state budget is riddled by shortages less than six weeks before the start of the new fiscal year and bullet-train politics remain volatile.
For Gov. Brown, there is no hesitation: “I’m a buoyant optimist and we’re going to build high-speed rail...,” he said while unveiling his revised budget that included a $15.7 billion shortfall.
Some $2.7 billion in bond money already has been approved, but lawmakers and the governor must appropriate the money to actually start the cash flowing – and to leverage promised federal funds. There is Democratic support in both houses, while minority Republicans remain skeptical.
Speaking of high-speed rail, the proposed bullet train has an array of critics, and the programs latest move to delete emails older than 90 days isn't helping matters any.
From Lance Williams at California Watch: "So it’s an unusual time to purge five years’ worth of bullet train project e-mails, critics say. Nevertheless, that’s what the agency is contemplating. In February, the rail authority filed papers with the state saying it intended to enact a new policy to destroy its e-mails after 90 days."
"Then, on May 1, in response to a request for information from a project critic, the rail authority said it could not produce e-mails that were older than 90 days, citing the new policy."
"The rail authority’s lawyer downplayed the issue’s significance, but it has caused concern among high-speed rail critics, who say they fear the authority is jettisoning important information about how the expensive project is being shaped."
Grants for low-income college students are on the chopping block in a budget-cutting move that will have a dramatic impact on hundreds of thousands of people.
From Matt Krupnick in the Contra Costa Times: "The changes take effect July 1, and students like Torno will bear the brunt of the reforms, which are expected to save $11 billion over 10 years."
"Among those who will lose Pell Grants in the summer are at least 65,000 new college students without high school diplomas and 63,000 who, like Torno, have spent more than six years in college. Changes in income requirements will reduce or eliminate grants for nearly 300,000 others."
"Torno has been in college off and on since 2000, full time since 2008. Her time in school amounts to the equivalent of six full-time years, which is the new limit on how long a student may receive Pell Grants. The scholarships previously were available for nine years."
CalPERS is looking at getting into the infrastructure market -- and other areas, too, as it ponders investments at closed-door meetings across the state.
From CalPensions Ed Mendel: "The nation’s largest public pension fund, CalPERS, is holding a meeting in San Diego this week to discuss investments in California infrastructure, this one focusing on energy. Previous closed-door meetings with a wide range of interests (held in Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles since March) have looked at transportation, water and infrastructure investing in general."
"In a happy convergence, pension funds are moving into infrastructure to reduce inflation and market risk, while deficit-ridden governments are deep in bond debt and looking for new ways to rebuild and expand crumbling public works."
"Creating jobs and putting money into local economies would be good public relations for public pensions, under fire for rising costs and worried about the undertow of the private-sector shift from pensions to 401(k)-style individual investment plans."
California's move to shift state prison inmates to county custody is putting intense pressure on the local sheriffs.
From the AP's Gillian Flaccus: "Like Sniff, many sheriffs throughout the state are releasing local inmates early to make room for offenders who previously would have gone to prison. For more than half of California's 58 counties, the situation is compounded by prior court-ordered caps on their jail populations."
'The law took effect on Oct. 1 and is part of Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to restructure state government and push more services to the county level. Opponents had cited the dangers of early releases in arguing against the shift, but after seven months, it's unclear whether the law is leading to a spike in violent crime.'
'There have been a few instances of released inmates committing serious new offenses and anecdotal reports of rising property crimes in some areas, but it's too soon to tell if those cases equate to a trend, said Ryan Sherman, spokesman for the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, the union representing state prison guards.'