Tom Steyer, who bankrolled the successful Proposition 39 campaign to close a major corporate tax loophole, now is taking aim at a familiar California thorn -- the oil severance tax.
From the Bee's Torrey Van Oot: "Tom Steyer, the San Francisco billionaire who recently left his job as a hedge fund firm to focus on political and environmental activism, called the oil severance tax the one area of energy policy where California lags other states in the nation in a speech at the California Democratic Party convention Saturday."
"This isn't just a question of our taking a fair share from huge, hugely profitable oil companies," Steyer told delegates. "This is about doing the simple task - the walk and chew gum of government - to showing us that we can do the right thing for the citizens of California in opposition of some very, very big companies."
"Previous attempts to set a tax on oil extracted in the state has failed to attract enough votes to win approval in the state Legislature. Steyer said the legislative supermajorities, which could allow Democrats to pass new taxes without GOP votes, and the potential that hydraulic fracking will lead to more oil production in the state make now the right time to act."
California's workers' compensation insurance system, which seems to be overhauled about once every five years, is in for some more turmoil -- this time from professional athletes.
From the LAT's Marc Lifsher: "A battle between professional athletes and owners of football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer teams starts Monday. Dozens of retired athletes plan a news conference on the steps of the state Capitol to denounce a bill that would make it harder for them to file workers' compensation claims in California."
"The measure, AB 1309 by Assemblyman Henry Perea (D-Fresno), seeks to close what he sees as a legal loophole that allows out-of-state players to file claims for compensation for sports injuries developed from years of pounding in the arena. An Assembly Insurance Committee hearing is set for April 24."
"Among those players expected Monday are J.J. Stokes of the National Football League's San Francisco 49ers,Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots; Ickey Woods of the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals; and Marty McSorley, who played hockey for half a dozen teams, including the Los Angles Kings and San Jose Sharks."
Opposing the bill are the players and their unions. The legislation interferes with collective bargaining agreements, said NFL Players Assn. Executive Director DeMaurice Smith. Claims filed in California are paid by teams and their insurance companies, not taxpayers, he noted.
To keep CalPERS on track for full funding, contributions into the huge pension fund would have to be doubled over the next three decades.
From Calpensions' Ed Mendel: "If not for pension and benefit increases as the stock market boomed more than a decade ago, CalSTRS would be one of the nation’s best-funded large retirement systems with 88 percent of the assets needed to pay promised pensions."
"Instead, an annual report said last week, the CalSTRS funding level dropped from 69 percent in the previous year to 67 percent, while the “unfunded liability” or debt increased from $64.5 billion to $71 billion."
"To reach full funding in 30 years, the annual payments to CalSTRS from employers, teachers and the state, estimated at $5.7 billion this fiscal year, would have to nearly double with an additional payment of more than $4.5 billion a year."
Meanwhile, back to the convention: The Dems set their target list for the year.
From the AP's Juliet Williams: "California Democrats adopted resolutions on Sunday affirming many of their biggest political goals, including changing California's landmark property tax limitation law, Proposition 13, supporting more gun control legislation and imposing a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing for oil."
"Delegates to the party's annual convention also urged President Barack Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada and affirmed their support for California's environmental quality law, known as CEQA. Gov. Jerry Brown, a fellow Democrat, and the state's legislative leaders have said they want to make changes to the four decade-old law this year."
"The Democratic resolution on CEQA said "there have been recent attacks on the integrity of this law that would compromise, dilute and diminish its effectiveness."
Gov. Brown's education-improvement plans are running into snags, including his effort to limit community college units at in-state rates.
From the Bee's Melody Gutierrez: "Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to make California's community college system more efficient and increase access for students hit a road block last week as lawmakers rejected his proposal to set a lifetime limit on the number of units students can take at reduced in-state rates."
"Budget panels in both houses of the Legislature rejected a provision in Brown's budget proposal that would limit community college students to 90 units, or force them to pay more than four times the current $46-per-unit price."
"The proposal was part of Brown's spending plan for the state's 112 community colleges, which included efforts to increase graduation and transfer rates by discouraging students from lingering or taking courses without an academic plan."