Times may be tight for just about everyone but one group is doing fine, thank you very much -- lobbyists for local governments.
From the LAT's Anthony York: "Local governments' spending on advocacy in the Capitol has surged in recent years, topping $96 million during the two-year legislative session that ended last fall — an increase of nearly 50% from a decade ago."
"The sum dwarfs the lobbying bills of the state's largest labor unions, big oil companies and other energy interests combined, according to the California secretary of state'soffice. No sector spends nearly as much trying to influence government in California as government."
"One reason is more than two decades of term limits. Turnover in the Capitol and in some local offices has weakened relationships between state and local officials. Many lobbyists work in Sacramento for decades, are more knowledgeable about policy details and intricate funding formulas than sitting lawmakers, and have long-standing relationships with Capitol staffers."
Everyone has a story to tell, even the toll takers on the Golden Gate Bridge, who are being replaced by machines.
From the Mercury-News' Mike Rosenberg: " At the Golden Gate Bridge, the toll takers are talking about the day a seafood truck driver gave a toll collector nine live crabs as a gift, and the crustaceans spent the afternoon trying to climb out of the toll booth. They're also recalling the epic streak when 48 drivers in a row paid the toll for the car behind them. And none of them can forget the time a driver broke down in tears at the toll booth after his wife called to say she was leaving him for his best friend."
"He put the car in park, turned it off and just started bawling. He was there with me for about three minutes," said Jacquie Dean, who, like her colleagues, has seen and heard it all while collecting the fare to cross one of the world's most iconic bridges. "Nobody honked; he needed that moment."
"After 76 years of stories at the Golden Gate Bridge, the last few dozen toll takers are sharing their unforgettable moments while working their final shifts as the span prepares to switch to an all-electronic payment system starting March 27. Machines are replacing humans here as they have at so many other jobs, and the Bay Area's other bridges are expected to follow suit in the coming years."
The Bay Delta Conservation Plan, the document that sets out goals and policy for the movement of water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, is a voluminous tome with crucial issues in the fine print.
From Chris "Maven" Austin in Capitol Weekly: "The BDCP has 214 biological goals and objectives that define the intended outcomes and provide specific means for gauging the effectiveness of the Plan, and Bonham urged those reviewing the documents to look at them closely. “These goals and objectives are specific at a level I don’t think we’ve been talking about in the Delta before,“ said Bonham, noting that the objectives are measurable, actionable, and time-bounded. “That is what our department will be using as our guidepost for success or failure, and a way in which we’re going to ensure meeting our dual goals,” he said."
"The BDCP’s 22 Conservation Measures define the specific actions that will be taken to meet the biological goals and objectives; they include actions such as restoring habitat restoration, treating urban stormwater, and controlling invasive species."
"Despite decades of studies, considerable uncertainty still exists in the understanding of the Delta’s ecosystem and the effectiveness of the conservation measures are not known; therefore, the BDCP includes an adaptive management program that will address this uncertainty by monitoring the outcomes and adjusting the measures if they are not meeting their objectives. "
There is new oppostion to the state's $150 a year firefighting charge for rural property owners, which is intended to provide a flow of money for critical services.
From the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin's Andrew Edwards: "The Howard Jarvis group's lawsuit contends the $150 charge should be properly considered as a tax because, as a uniform assessment, it is not based on any specific fire prevention services that Calfire may perform for whoever has to pay the fee."
"That's the same objection that Carol Banner, a board member for the Lake Arrowhead Chamber of Commerce, has."
"We're receiving no additional fire service, and that's what we're upset about," she said.
A lawmaker has introducede legislation that would put into effect Gov. Brown's Calpers-reform plan to restructure the pension fund's board.
From Calpensions' Ed Mendel: "The proposal said pension boards need members with “independence and sophistication” to ensure that retirees receive promised benefits “without exposing taxpayers to large unfunded liabilities.”
"CalPERS sponsored legislation, SB 400 in 1999, that gave state workers a major retroactive pension increase. A deep pension cut in 1991 was rolled back. Retirees received a 1 to 6 percent increase in their pensions."
"Highway Patrol pensions increased 50 percent, setting a costly bargaining benchmark for local police and firefighters that critics say is unsustainable. All of this, CalPERS erroneously said, would be paid for by investment earnings, not costing taxpayers “a dime." CalPERS also pushed for increases in local government pensions authorized by AB 616 in 1991, offering to inflate the value of pension fund assets to help pay for the increased cost of higher pensions."