Third-term Gov. Jerry Brown gives his eighth State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature today, and he will focus on fiscal austerity, bipartisanship and the need to act quickly. From Marisa Lagos and Wyatt Buchanan in the Chronicle.
"The state's $25.4 billion budget deficit looms over every conversation in Sacramento, and the new governor is busy trying to sell his proposed solution, a mix of spending cuts and tax extensions, that has a little something for everyone to hate. So it's unlikely that Brown will be rolling out any ambitious projects or plans because there's no money."
"And while those close to the governor expect him to at least touch on the need for pension reform - a rallying cry for Republicans - it's doubtful that he'll propose anything too detailed. Brown can't risk alienating the powerful public employee unions he needs to help persuade voters to extend tax increases on a June ballot, a key part of his budget proposal."
The Rancho Mirage retreat of Tea Party bankrollers Charles and David Koch drew liberal protesters, many of whom were bused into the desert haven. The LAT's Rich Connell and Tom Hamburger have the story.
"The protestors waved signs condemning "corporate greed," chanted slogans and surged toward a line of helmeted police officers at the entrance to a resort where billionaires Charles and David Koch were holding a retreat for prominent conservative elected officials, major political donors and strategists."
"Protest organizers said they hoped to raise awareness about the Koch brothers and what activists portray as their shadowy attempts to weaken environmental protection laws and undercut campaign contribution limits."
A major Wall Street credit-rating house, in a departure from the past, is counting unfunded public pensions like bond debt, reflecting the concerns about the magnitude of pension obligations. CalPensions' Ed Mendel has the story.
"The decision to add pensions to bond debt announced by Moody’s Investors Services last week reflects concern about public employee pension costs, which are growing as state budgets plunge deep into the red during a lengthy economic downturn."
“Pension underfunding has been driven by weaker-than-expected investment results, previous benefit enhancements and, in some states, failure to pay the annual required contribution to the pension fund,” said Moody’s analyst Ted Hampton."
The proposed budget cuts to California's courts is upsetting quite a few people -- especially those in the courts. Howard Mintz in the Mercury News has the story.
"Judges who usually keep their criticisms under wraps howled in protest, some forming a rebel group to resist the move. Others, such as court employee unions, took dead aim at the court system's ever-growing bureaucracy and spending on a $2 billion technology program. But for the largest state court system in the country, that tempest may just be a prelude to what is coming next."
"Gov. Jerry Brown, as part of his plan to slash state spending, has proposed cutting $200 million from the California courts in the next budget, on top of the more than $100 million court officials have been forced to cut in the past year..."
So close, yet so far: Gov. Brown needs five Republican votes to get a $9 billion tax extension through, but he's going to have to get around the no-tax pledge signed by GOP lawmakers.
"Like the other 26 Assembly Republicans, Nielsen signed the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” pushed by anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, founder of the Americans for Tax Reform organization in 1985."
"All but two of the 14 Republican state senators have also signed the pledge, Norquist's group says. Democrats are shy by two votes in the Assembly and three votes in the Senate of the two-thirds majority needed to put the tax measures on a special election ballot — a linchpin in Brown's plan to solve California's $25 billion deficit."
And now from our "On the Road" file, we learn about New Jersey's new method of dealing with snow-clogged streets: pickle juice. Yep, and you know this is true because it was reported in Time magazine.
"Bergen County is just across the Hudson from New York – and despite being among the wealthiest counties in the nation, this winter has busted their budget for snow removal. Road salt comes at a hefty premium, and being only halfway through winter, they've invested in a new, and much cheaper, snow melter: pickle juice. (See pictures of snowstorms hitting the east coast — again.)"
"While it's unclear if the mixture ever once contained the delectable deli snack, it's a green salty liquid that executives say melts snow and ice just as well as solid salt. And the price can't be beat: the briny mixture costs just 7 cents a gallon, compared to $63 a ton for salt. Quick math works the pickle juice out to roughly $16 per ton, a substantial savings (though commenters on CBS's story seem to think the math is a bit more complicated)."
Hold the mayo....