Carla Marinucci reviews the governor's
big ideas announced in the State of the State address. "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his State of the State address Tuesday, assumed the role of director of "post-partisanship" in Sacramento, laying out an ambitious political agenda that will involve a complex cast, a hefty script, a big budget and some difficult special effects to deliver results in areas from health care to the environment.
The governor defined the task as nearly epic and heroic in proportions and urged that the challenge be taken up because California is '
the modern equivalent of the ancient city-states of Athens and Sparta,' providing the ideas and the muscle to deliver the future."
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"'We are not waiting -- period, because the future does not wait,' Schwarzenegger told the assembled Legislature in joint session. 'I believe that together, not only can we lead California into the future,
we can show the nation and the world how to get there.'"
We should have more of the gory details this afternoon when the governor lays out his 2007-08 budget.
"The governor's lofty goals emerged just months after a re-election campaign in which some Californians openly wondered which Arnold Schwarzenegger might emerge in a second term: the hard-core conservative who called Democrats "girlie men" and picked fights with the teachers union, or the social progressive who helped deliver landmark legislation on global warming and signed a bill increasing the minimum wage.
The answer this week seemed to suggest something for every audience: He pushed to reduce greenhouse gases and expand health care -- both Democratic issues -- while proposing to increase water storage and to reduce welfare spending, proposals close to Republican hearts."
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
called Tuesday for another major expansion in public works spending, growth in alternative fuels and health coverage for the uninsured in a State of the State address that generally drew praise from Democrats and a tepid response from Republicans," reports Kevin Yamamura in the Bee.
"Fresh off an election in which Californians overwhelmingly re-elected him and approved all $37.3 billion of his bond measures for transportation and other projects, the Republican governor
now wants voters to pass an additional $29.4 billion in bonds for dams, schools and courthouses.
'We are a big state and we have big needs,' he said. 'And we have made a big down payment. But the job is not finished.'"
Bonds. More bonds.
"Schwarzenegger used his address to ask lawmakers to tackle problems in prisons, health care and education. In doing so, he avoided the aggressive approach he took two years ago when he launched four controversial proposals that proved so divisive they nearly derailed his re-election.
Besides seeking $29.4 billion in voter-approved bonds, Schwarzenegger will ask lawmakers for $13.9 billion in revenue bonds for prisons, water storage and smaller expenses such as a new DNA laboratory."
Speaker
Fabian Nunez "expressed support for the governor's focus on health care, but Republicans charged that the plan announced Monday was heavy on business and physician taxes and even ran counter to the governor's campaign pledges.
'The biggest elephant in the room, in my mind, was the fact that he directly violated his campaign pledge not to raise taxes,' said Assemblyman
Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine. ' ...
It's not just the speech that I'm disappointed in. I'm disappointed in yesterday, today and no doubt will be tomorrow as well.'"
The governor's plan would "
build two new reservoirs and re-engineer the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to counter climate change and other threats," writes Matt Weiser in the Bee.
"The state has not built a new dam on its own in 30 years. The subject routinely divides conservative and liberal politicians. Last year, Democrats defeated a Republican push to include dams in the $4.1 billion flood-control bond, Proposition 1E, that voters approved in November.
Schwarzenegger's plan is an effort to put dams back in play. He did not mention the dams specifically in his State of the State speech Tuesday, but his staff presented them as key pieces of preparations for climate change.
Lester Snow, director of the Department of Water Resources, hinted that the administration is willing to compromise on the plan and welcomes debate.
The bond would include $4 billion for dams and $500 million for groundwater storage projects.
'If people want to argue that it should be half the surface storage and twice the groundwater storage, that's a wonderful discussion to have,' Snow said. 'The problem is, no matter what we do, we continue to have problems with snowpack and runoff.'"
Okay, we won't play with the idea of having a director of DWR with the last name of Snow...
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's senior staff declared there "are no winners and losers" in California's
ambitious low-carbon fuel initiative unveiled in Sacramento on Tuesday. But some parts of the energy industry may have more to gain than others," report Janet Wilson and Elizabeth Douglass in the Times.
"Former California secretary of state
Bill Jones, co-founder and chairman of Fresno-based Pacific Ethanol Inc. and a contributor to Schwarzenegger's reelection campaign, was a featured speaker, suggesting that ethanol has a major role in the governor's vision for sharply reducing greenhouse gases by shifting to lower-carbon fuel. Not a single oil or gas company was represented onstage.
While some scientists and environmentalists applaud ethanol, others say that it is far from a sure bet in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and analysts said replacing petroleum with things like ethanol could actually raise prices for consumers at the fuel pump, especially in the short run.
'It definitely does raise a concern as to whether ethanol companies will be the primary beneficiaries,' said
Bill Magavern, a senior policy advisor with Sierra Club California, of Jones' center-stage appearance."
The U-T's Keith Darce writes that the governor's
health proposal has elements for people to both love and hate. "The proposal would give most of California's 6.5 million residents without insurance access to some form of health coverage, but the price might be high for some.
For example, hospitals and doctors would receive more money for taking care of poor patients, but they would have to pay new fees to the state. Insurers would get more business, but they wouldn't be able to turn away high-risk customers with pre-existing illnesses.
'There's something for everybody to love in this proposal, and there's something for everyone to hate,' said
Ann Kuhns, Blue Cross of California's vice president for state affairs."
Dan Walters looks at
what it would take to implement the governor's goals this year. "Schwarzenegger went along with the Democrats last year because he needed a record of accomplishment to run for re-election after suffering a serious setback at the hands of voters in 2005 and seeing his popularity plummet. With his popularity once again high and a landslide re-election under his belt, Schwarzenegger begins this year in a stronger political position and could conceivably be tougher with Democrats on water, prison construction and other issues they would prefer to shun, even as he deals with balky Republicans on health care and other issues they don't embrace.
If the "new centrism" is to mean anything more than a buzzword phrase in a speech, Schwarzenegger must find a way to cut through the Capitol's ideological polarization, perhaps by using his newly recaptured popularity to enlist the larger public."
And from our
Press Conferences We Almost Attended Files, Sen.
Dean Florez will hold a press conference today touting the "air quality and economic benefits of biodiesel."
The subtitle of the press release states, "Actress Julia Roberts urges support for use of cleaner-burning fuel in school buses," but later notes,
"Roberts is unable to attend but offered the following statement..."
...and then we suddenly lost interest.
