Assembly Democrats are moving quickly to
force a vote on a bill that would levy new taxes on oil companies to raise money for education," Capitol Weekly reports.
"The bill, AB 3X 9 by Speaker
Fabian Nunez was dismissed as a political stunt by Republicans, who say Democrats are more interested in embarrassing Assembly Republicans than actually solving the state’s budget problems.
"'It’s bad political theater masquerading as responsible tax policy,' said Assemblyman
Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, the ranking Republican on the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee. 'It's actually bad fiscal and energy policy.'"
"The bill would create a new 2 percent oil tax for any oil company that earns more than $10 million in net income. It would also impose a new 6 percent 'oil severance tax' based on the gross value of each barrel of oil produced in the state," which would generate about $1.2 billion for the state, according to the Speaker's office."
"The bill is expected to be rushed through a policy committee and onto the floor today, after Nunez and
Karen Bass head to a local school to hold a press conference.
"
The timing of this vote is no accident. Gov. Schwarzenegger has proposed 10 percent cuts to education programs in the state. This week, teachers across the state will begin receiving notices that they may not have jobs in the fall."
Meanwhile,
Don Perata will be at another school holding a press conference of his own, criticizing the governor's proposed cuts. With him will be Sens.
Tom Torlakson and
Gloria Romero, who are both running for state superintendent in 2010.
Might get a little crowded on that stage...
"Nearly
one in 10 educators at the San Diego Unified School District will receive a layoff notice this week under a proposal adopted by trustees yesterday that would slash $80 million from its $1.2 billion operating budget," reports Maureen Magee in the Union-Tribune.
"About 920 of the district's 9,300 certificated positions – teachers, counselors, nurses, principals and other jobs that require a teaching credential – have been targeted for elimination.
"Pink slips are set to go out tomorrow to the 903 employees who fill those positions, informing them they might be out of a job come fall. Trustees have until May 15 to make final staffing decisions."
"The state
is not likely to get a $37-billion up-front payment if it enters a long-term lease of the state lottery to private investors, a legislative analyst said Tuesday, adding that such an arrangement would probably provide less than half that amount," reports Patrick McGreevy in the Times.
"
Jason Dickerson, a gambling policy analyst for the state Senate, told a legislative committee that it should not rely on the $37-billion projection offered by the governor's administration last year.
"'
That is highly unlikely and unrealistic,' Dickerson told the Senate's Local Government Committee, which is considering loosening restrictions on the lottery to make it more marketable to the public and a potential private investor."
Unrealistic budget numbers? We're shocked!
"Countering a potentially precedent-setting appeals court decision that bars parents from educating their children at home if they lack teaching credentials, California Superintendent of Public Instruction
Jack O'Connell on Tuesday
affirmed families' right to home school," writes Seema Mehta in the Times.
"'There's no cause for alarm,' he said Tuesday.
"'I want to assure parents that chose to home school that California Department of Education policy will not change in any way as a result of this ruling,' he said in a written statement. 'Parents still have the right to home school in our state.'
So, if you're keeping score at home, apparently the state superintendent can simply ignore the state appeals court.
"O'Connell's statements stem from a Feb. 28 ruling by the 2nd District Court of Appeal that said parents must have a teaching credential to home school their children. The decision has not yet gone into effect and it is unlikely to be enforced pending appeals to the state Supreme Court by attorneys representing
Phillip and Mary Long, the Lynwood couple at the center of the case, and others."
"The
number of information technology contracts awarded by the state of California has tripled since 2003, and the state could save up to $100 million annually by reducing its reliance on contractors, according to a new union study," reports the Bee's Aurelio Rojas.
"The report, titled "Too Many, Too Costly, Too Little Oversight," was compiled by the Service Employees International Union in preparation for a hearing today in the Legislature and based on information provided by the Department of General Services.
"SEIU represents 7,800 state IT employees, 80 percent of whom work in the Sacramento region. The union is sponsoring AB 2603 by Assemblyman
Mike Eng, D-Monterey Park, that would require state departments to report IT contract expenditures so that they could be compared to the cost of state employees doing the work."
"Public and private water officials found in a Senate hearing Tuesday that they
still have a long way to go to enact a new water bond, especially one that includes new dams," reports Jake Henshaw in the Visalia Times.
"But after a few volatile weeks in the murky world of state water politics, some lawmakers in the meeting of legislators, business and water-district representatives tried to find some hope in the three-hour session.
"The major sticking point in the negotiations has been new dams, which generally have been supported by the governor, Republican legislators and their business backers, and opposed by Democrats and their environmental allies."
"While Vallejo's finances were plunging faster than a roller coaster at the Six Flags amusement park,
the city's firefighters were going abalone diving, grilling tri-tip and drinking cocktails on the public's dime, records show," reports the Chron's Carolyn Jones.
"Under their contract, the firefighters union has been allowed since 2003 to charge the city 600 hours a year - at a cost of more than $24,000 annually - for union activities that were approved by the union's chief. The junkets included an annual Seafood Extravaganza at the fairgrounds, a 10-kilometer run ending with a party at the amusement park and a dunk tank at the Waterfront Festival.
"The Solano County grand jury blasted the fire union's unusual business-leave arrangement in a 2006 report, as did an Oakland attorney hired by the city in November. But firefighters say they used the time to raise money for Little League, Boys and Girls Clubs and other local charities.
"'
Was it true we had a cocktail every now and then? Absolutely. Were we out boozing and not coming back (to work) because we were hung over? Absolutely not,' union President
Kurt Henke said Tuesday. '
It's no different than going to a business lunch or reception.'
Whew, we're glad to know that firefighters came back to work after drinking.
Now, far be it from us to criticize bloggers, but stuff like this gives all of us Web-based publications a bad name. The Desert Sun reports, "
Bonnie Garcia and Sen.
Mel Martinez of Florida were named in a recent Libertarian Republican blog
as the newest names to emerge in John McCain's search for a vice presidential candidate.
"Think the jump from Cathedral City to the White House is far fetched? Not for blogger
Eric Dondero."
Really? We think that's the craziest thing we've seen since
this photograph.
"He argues that Garcia would secure the Latinos in California and the Puerto Ricans in Hillary Clinton's New York.
"Garcia said the blog posting was 'totally out of blue.' And while she's backed the Arizona senator, she didn't include strings (like a spot on the ticket)."
We could only hope that McCain picks a VP who would be half as interesting.