"After months of holding firm on a "no new taxes" pledge, some Republican lawmakers said Wednesday that they
are willing to consider a tax hike as part of a wider-ranging deal to close the state's budget gap.
"Republican legislators' internal budget discussions were part of a private,
two-day policy conference at Sacramento's Hyatt Hotel.
"The GOP caucus realizes a tax hike will be part of
any budget pact but could support it only if agreement
were reached on permanent program cuts, a hard spending
cap and other issues, lawmakers said.
"'The reforms have to be there,' said Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Hesperia.
"'(We must be able) to tell constituents, 'Look, we had to raise taxes, we had to go forward,
but we've fundamentally altered the way in which Sacramento
is going to be budgeted – and we will not have these problems again because
of it,'' Adams said.
"'There will be things that are fee-generated and probably some kind of tax (increase),' [Mike] Duvall said of prospects for a deal. 'But until we actually get the whole package, we're not jumping on board.'
"Several GOP lawmakers said no consensus has been reached
in the caucus on whether a temporary sales tax hike
is preferable to a vehicle license fee increase or
some other revenue option."
While the GOP were holed up in the guv's second home, "State Controller John Chiang — who warned last week that he will soon suspend billions
in tax refunds and other payments because the state
is short on cash — is opposing a plan by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to
save $1.3 billion by furloughing state workers two days a month," writes Mike Zapler in the Merc News.
"In a legal brief filed late Tuesday, Chiang agreed
with state employee unions suing the governor over
his December executive order imposing the furloughs,
which would cover about 238,000 government employees and amount to a pay cut of roughly
10 percent. The unions, and now Chiang, argue that Schwarzenegger
exceeded his authority and that any furloughs must
be negotiated through the collective bargaining process.
"'While I agree with the governor that state employees
— like all Californians — must tighten their belts,' Chiang said in a statement, 'it must be done so in a manner that is consistent with
the rule of law.'
"Chiang was actually named as a defendant in the lawsuit
but decided to side with the plaintiffs, led by the
Professional Engineers in California Government and
joined by other unions.
"Administration officials noted Chiang has taken campaign
contributions from the engineers union and suggested
that the controller, a Democrat, is doing the bidding
of unions."
The LAT's Michael Rothfeld and Patrick McGreevy report:
"Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders are expected to meet for budget negotiations today
for the first time since Friday. The Democratic leaders of the state Senate and Assembly
remained in Washington on Wednesday, a day after attending
the inauguration of President Obama. Schwarzenegger,
who returned from the inauguration Tuesday, was in
Los Angeles.
"Meanwhile, the state's fiscal quandary prompted Moody's Investors Service to issue a notice of a potential
downgrade of the state's credit rating. California is tied with Louisiana
for the worst credit rating of any state, and a downgrade
would put it alone at the bottom and reduce the value
of state bonds for investors who hold them.
"The rating agency cited the state's dwindling supply of cash, the possibility that lawmakers
and the governor may not figure out a legitimate way
to plug the budget gap by the beginning of next month,
and the limited options the state will have to handle
future difficulties because it has already borrowed
heavily.
"'This is more evidence of how urgently our state needs
its legislators to act to resolve our fiscal emergency,' said Mike Genest, Schwarzenegger's finance director.
"In a conference call with reporters Wednesday, Senate
President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) were asked why they had not yet returned to the Capitol
to resume talks.
"They defended their decision to stay in Washington,
saying they had been able to meet with California's two U.S. senators and most Democratic members of
the state's congressional delegation to discuss the federal economic
stimulus plan proposed by Obama."
George Skelton hopes that the governor takes a cue from Barack Obama's inaugural call.
"Schwarzenegger should start leveling with Californians
about the severity of the necessary pain and the depth
of the revenue problem. For example, the governor could
fire every state employee under his control and that
still wouldn't balance the budget. Roughly 70% of the general fund flows out to local governments
and schools.
"'I get the sense that people are willing to make hard
choices and sacrifices if they're asked,' says Mark Baldassare, pollster and president of the
nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California.
'But what they would like most is to have some direction
from our leaders. . . . And that's what they haven't heard.'"
Oh, just tell 'em that Barry supports the tax hike...
"Baldassare says polling has shown that there's a slight movement toward the middle -- toward acceptance and sacrifice -- by both the anti-tax and pro-spending voter blocs.
"Schwarzenegger should take a cue from Obama and try
to build up the public's tolerance to pain."
Thank you sir, may I have another...
While legislative leaders are returning for budget deliberations, the gubernatorial wannabes are still basking in the glow of the nation's capital. The Bee's Michael Doyle is keeping tabs on potential gubernatorial candidates, while Newsweek takes a look at Gavin Newsom.
CW reports on the latest in the congressional race to
succeed Hilda Solis, assuming she makes it through confirmation hearings.
"While labor may be divided between [Judy] Chu and [Gil] Cedillo, others in the caucus want to ensure the district
is represented by a Latino. Polanco has been working
hard to unify Latinos behind Cedillo’s candidacy.
"If Chu is to win the seat, she will have to earn some
Latino support. The 32nd Congressional District is about 62 percent Latino. Asians make up about 20 percent of the district population. Latinos make up
about half of the district’s voter registration. Asians comprise about 13 percent of registered voters.
"In her departure from the Congressional race, [Gloria] Romero announced her support for Cedillo.
"'Senator Cedillo has been a forceful advocate for public
safety and anti-gang initiatives.
He has been tenacious in his advocacy for the rights
and dignity of working families and the preservation
of good middle-class jobs,' she said. 'He has been a leader in the San Gabriel Valley Caucus’ fight for a more equitable share of transportation
dollars for eastern Los Angeles County and the communities
we jointly represent.'
"Chu has already secured the endorsement of Assemblyman
Ed Hernandez, D-El Monte, who has his eyes on Romero’s senate seat in 2010. Chu and her husband, Assemblyman Mike Eng, D-Los Angeles, -- two of Hernandez’s top potential rivals -- are said to be backing Hernandez for the Senate seat."
Meanwhile, CW's Malcolm Maclachlan writes "Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Modesto, is seeking to end a practice he claims violates Senate rules : "polling” by the Senate Rules Committee.
"Polling is a practice by which the five members of
the Rules Committee are asked which way they would
likely vote on a particular bill, without the Committee
actually meeting. This powerful committee also confirms
the governor’s appointees, decides which bills get heard by committees
and determines staffing and office space for the 40-member Senate.
"Denham and Republican staffers say that at least two
controversial Democratic bills were saved by polling
during the last session, each when they were nearing
important deadlines. His office has obtained an opinion
from the Legislative Counsel which appears to state
that polling violates Senate rules.
"According to the Senate Rules committee, Denham said,
polling is only done on "non-controversial" bills. This explanation doesn’t appease him.
"'I don’t think it should happen at all,' Denham said. 'If you’re up against a deadline, introduce it next year.'
"Jim Evans, Steinberg’s communication director, said Denham is trying to
make an issue of a practice that has been going on
for at least 14 years with Republican participation."
Maclachlan also reports on the continued fight over environmental standards for chemicals.
""A pair of Democratic Senators are pushing the Arnold
Schwarzenegger administration to use some of its new
powers under the Green Chemistry initiative—and they may also reintroduce chemicals legislation
they carried last year.
"Last month, Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, introduced SB 22. So far, he said, this bill is a “placeholder,” but it is likely to morph into one of two things—either another attempt at a bill to strengthen chemical
disclosure requirements on products sold in California,
or “a larger next step on green chemistry.” He also said he may do both bills.
"Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, is urging the Governor and the Department
of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to use powers granted by legislation last year to
prohibit the use of some fire retardants that many
scientists say are toxic. Leno said that he may bring
back AB 706, legislation he carried in the Assembly last year
that would ban two types of fire retardant chemicals
many scientists say cause cancer, nerve damage and
reproductive harm.
"'The governor strongly supports Green Chemistry,' said administration spokeswoman Lisa Page. 'But we don’t have a specific position on these bills right now.'"
"California patients now can find out whether they are more or less likely
to die in their local hospital - compared with the state average - when being treated for certain conditions," reports Victoria Colliver in the Chron.
"Using data from 2006 and 2007, the state Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development today released in-hospital death rates for three medical conditions - acute stroke, gastrointestinal bleeding and hip fracture
- as well as five surgical procedures.
"The report, which required acute-care hospitals to participate, rated facilities as
better than, worse than or on par with the state average
for the eight categories, adjusting for whether the
hospital treats a greater number of very sick, high-risk patients."
Finally, from our Ideas to Solve the Deficit file:
"A 72-year-old man with eyebrows so long he brushed them each
morning raised $1,600 for charity from people who paid to take turns trimming
his out-of-control brows. Some of the wiry hairs shorn from Si Burgher's shaggy eyebrows measured more than three inches long
because the former jeweler's brows had never been trimmed.
"Burgher's eyebrows were so long he used to brush them before
leaving the house. But he agreed to have the overgrown
brows tamed last week by members of the Bloomfield
Rotary Club to raise money for a polio eradication
campaign.
"Burgher barely winced as his wife, Amy, got the first
whack at the overgrown hairs.
"'I don't care if they ever grow back,' he told The Herald-Times of Bloomington. 'My wife says I look 20 years younger.'"