"Democratic and Republican legislators jointly agreed Thursday to accept billions in federal
funds to help families threatened by recession," writes Jim Sanders in the Bee.
"Legislation paving the way for California to obtain
about $3 billion in federal stimulus money for a 20-week extension of unemployment benefits cleared its
final hurdle by passing the Senate.
"Both legislative houses passed a separate measure that
would change eligibility rules to make it easier for
seasonal workers to qualify for unemployment assistance
after April 3, 2011.
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to sign both
bills today, along with three others that would provide
more than $12 billion in federal stimulus funds for Medi-Cal, transportation, drinking water and wastewater
treatment projects."
And, in case you'd thought it would be a slow Friday, "State finance officials' accounting of whether California will receive enough federal funds to avoid nearly $3 billion in tax increases and budget cuts is scheduled to be made public today," reports Matthew Yi in the Chron.
"At issue is a provision in the recently enacted budget
that says some tax increases and spending cuts would
be avoided if California receives at least $10 billion in federal economic stimulus funds for the
state's general fund budget.
"But calculating just how much the state can count toward
general fund relief can get squishy, and that job has
been relegated to state Treasurer Bill Lockyer and Department of Finance Director Mike Genest.
"The two have hinted that the state may not get enough
money, saying their preliminary calculations show the
state's general fund benefiting by about $8 billion.
"And if that's what they announce today, the state will go ahead
with a $1.8 billion hike in personal income taxes as well as nearly
$1 billion in cuts to health care, human services, public
university systems and state courts."
Dan Walters writes that the effect of construction stimulus dollars is overstated.
"Even were all the public works stimulus money spent
on construction jobs, in other words, it would fall
short of making up for just the last year's losses in that sector, and its impact on the state's overall economy would be infinitesimal.
"At 18,000 jobs per $1 billion, it would take at least $50 billion to reverse the effects of the recession so
far. And with economists' projections that California's unemployment rate is headed to as high as 15 percent next year, another half-million workers could find themselves jobless.
"There are no easy answers to this economic meltdown,
and it does no good to raise false hopes."
John Myers and Anthony York discuss the stimulus dollars, and the new PPIC poll
in this week's podcast...
"A federal judge overturned part of a November ballot initiative Thursday
that toughened state parole procedures, saying the measure went too far in limiting parolees' right to have a lawyer and present evidence at hearings
that could return them to prison," writes Bob Egelko in the Chron.
"U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton of Sacramento said portions of Proposition 9 conflict with an order he issued in 2004 to protect the rights of tens of thousands of parolees
at hearings into whether they violated the terms of
their release.
"The order entitled all parolees to a lawyer at state
expense. Prop. 9, approved by 54 percent of the voters, required the state to provide
a lawyer only if the parolee had no money and appeared
unable to present an effective defense because of limited
education or mental capacity, or because the issues
involved were complex."
"California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring said Thursday he will convene an executive committee meeting next month
to decide the party's positions on the May 19 ballot measures," reports Kevin Yamamura on Capitol Alert.
"The meeting comes as stark divisions remain within
the state GOP on the proposals.
"Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is spearheading
the campaign drive. He is visiting editorial boards
with Democratic leaders in tow, but also Assembly Republican
Leader Mike Villines and former Senate Republican leader
Dave Cogdill, who was ousted in a caucus coup right
before the budget passed last month.
"While Villines and Cogdill have signed on to advocate
for measures they helped place on the ballot, new Senate
Republican leader Dennis Hollingsworth said Thursday
at the Sacramento Press Club that he doesn't think they will pass. The Murrieta Republican and
other conservative legislators oppose Proposition 1A, which includes $16 billion in temporary tax hikes.
"Meanwhile, two 2010 GOP candidates for governor, Meg Whitman and Steve
Poizner, have also come out against Proposition 1A as they battle over the conservative base. But a
third candidate, Tom Campbell, supports the measure."
The Bee's Susan Ferriss reports on the Dennis Hollingsworth talk at the Sacramento Press Club.
"Hollingsworth said he thinks the only measure that
might pass on May 19 is Proposition 1F, which prevents pay raises for California elected
officials during budget deficit years.
"'Senate Republicans are going to be prepared to provide
some alternatives,' Hollingsworth said, if the measures go down to defeat.
He noted that GOP solutions would include mostly spending
cuts.
"Hollingsworth also responded to media reports that
GOP legislators, during heated budget negotiations,
had suggested in private discussions that they allow
California to descend into insolvency so the Democrats
would be blamed."
On a possible Abel Maldonado recall campaign...
"'I don't think the recalls make sense,' Hollingsworth said. 'If Abel Maldonado were recalled, there would probably be a Democrat elected in that district.'"
The LAT's Patrick McGreevy reports on some interesting finds on the state's legislative payroll.
"Yolie Flores Aguilar, a longtime friend and political ally of some powerful
California Democrats, last year supplemented her income
as vice president of the Los Angeles school board with
more than $32,000 as a consultant assigned to a state Senate committee
that, during her tenure, did not meet or release any
reports.
"State Sen. Rod Wright (D-Inglewood) was paid at least $27,900 by the state Senate last year for miscellaneous tasks
as he was campaigning for his current job. And Californians
pay Marisela Villar, daughter of L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, $68,000 annually as a field representative for Democrats.
"Lawmakers have broad powers to hire whomever they wish,
and those they employ need not go through the Civil
Service exam process that requires applicants to compete
for jobs on merit. Some are paid as consultants, with
vague responsibilities or assignments. Others have
titles that bear little relationship to what they actually
do.
"At least a dozen political allies, relatives and friends
of legislators, including political candidates in need
of a salaried landing or launch pad between elections,
were on the legislative roster last year at a cost
of $754,000.
"'It looks like nepotism,' said Tracy Westen, chief executive of the Center for Governmental Studies
in Los Angeles. 'It's the kind of thing the public doesn't like: people using their power and influence to provide
cushy jobs to friends and family.'"
"Ethanol investors met with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this week in an effort to derail California’s far-reaching proposal to slash carbon emissions from transportation fuels," reports Margot Roosevelt in the Times.
"The meeting, the latest volley in a national campaign
against the regulation, was attended by Silicon Valley
mogul Vinod Khosla and former Secretary of State Bill Jones, chairman of the board of Sacramento-based Pacific Ethanol Inc. One participant, New Fuels
Alliance lobbyist Brooke Coleman, said the proposal is based on "completely speculative" scientific models and would cripple the nation's biofuels industry.
"Environmentalists are alarmed by the mounting attack
on the state Air Resources Board, which will hold a
hearing on the rule in Sacramento today. 'There is an all-out war by corn ethanol interests, and they are using
scare tactics to get others on board,' said Patricia Monahan, a vehicles expert at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
"The rule would be the first in the nation to restrict
planet-heating greenhouse gases from fuel. It is an essential
component of the state’s landmark global warming law, which would slash the
state's carbon dioxide emissions by 15% over the next 11 years. President Obama has called for a national low-carbon fuel standard."
And from our Pump You Up Files, the Bee's Jim Downing reports:
"Thursday, the state Air Resources Board voted 8-0 in favor of a rule that requires most automotive service shops to check and
inflate tires to the recommended pressure.
"The measure should prolong tire life and improve fuel
efficiency slightly, cutting greenhouse-gas emissions.
"The tire measure is a small part of California's climate-change strategy, accounting for less than 0.5 percent of the state's 2020 emissions-reduction target. But it's one of the few immediate changes that consumers are
likely to notice."
"A California lawmaker is pushing to crack down on one of the nation's oldest and most chilling symbols of violent discrimination
against African Americans – the hangman's noose," reports Jim Sanders in the Bee.
"Used by mobs in the past to kill, the knotted rope
occasionally is hung these days by racists, white supremacists
or others as a form of intimidation and threat of force.
"'We want to see it completely stopped,' said Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter, a Rialto Democrat who was born in Mississippi and
said her relatives know the noose's message well.
"Carter has proposed Assembly Bill 412, which could land offenders a one-year jail sentence and $5,000 fine for intimidation from hanging a noose on a victim's property or at a school, park or workplace.
"AB 412 focuses directly on nooses hung as intimidation, not
as a prank, political statement or as free speech on
the hangers' personal property."
Today is the funeral for four Oakland police officers who were killed in the line of duty Sunday. "Law enforcement officers from all 50 states and a handful of foreign countries are expected to pour into the Oracle Arena for an 11 a.m. funeral honoring the four officers killed in related shooting incidents last Saturday.
"A list of tentative speakers includes acting police Chief Howard Jordan, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, state Attorney General Jerry Brown, and family and friends of the officers. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is scheduled to meet privately with the families before the service around 10:15 a.m., police said."
Politico weighs in on the race to replace Ellen Tauscher in Congress . "Few expect that the GOP will be competitive in the
special election in
the reliably Democratic, suburban Bay Area seat, and
already a
Democratic front-runner has emerged: state Sen. Mark DeSaulnier.
"DeSaulnier told POLITICO he will announce his campaign
as soon as
Tauscher steps down from the House — her Senate confirmation isn’t
expected for several more weeks. He said he is confident he will
receive endorsements from the entire party establishment
in the 10th
District, including Tauscher herself. He has the backing of one
prominent local Democrat: Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, who had been
considering jumping into the race.
“'This is all going to happen quickly. I have a campaign
team that is
still in place from running for the Legislature, and
they’re all ready
to go,' DeSaulnier said. 'And I’m fairly confident that the people who
have supported me in the past will support me again
in this campaign.'
And from our Headline of the Day Files, AP comes up
with this gem. "Toilet sausage chef causes prison unit evacuation."
"An inmate's attempt to heat up sausages in his toilet went up in
smoke when the cooking fire forced a unit evacuation
at a Washington
prison. Clallam Bay Corrections Center spokeswoman
Denise Larson says 130 inmates were evacuated to a dining hall when smoke was spotted coming from a sewer vent pipe
Wednesday evening.
"The toilet chef has been placed in segregation pending discipline at the prison on Washington's Olympic Peninsula."
