"With the state's fiscal
crisis worsening, there will likely be no good news
when Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger unveils a revised version of his budget
proposal on
Wednesday," reports Matthew Yi in the Chron.
"Schwarzenegger warned last month that California's looming budget
deficit could be as high as $20 billion, a staggering figure that represents about
one-fifth of the state's annual general-fund spending.
"Efforts to close the gap are expected to result in
cutting popular programs as well as generating more
revenues by increasing
taxes or fees. And with budget negotiations likely
to drag on
through the summer, this story probably won't have a happy ending for the
actor-turned-governor or the 38 million Californians, experts say.
"'If this was a Schwarzenegger movie, there would be
some secret
weapon or escape hatch, but unfortunately this is Schwarzenegger
reality, not a movie,' said John Pitney Jr., a political science
professor at Claremont McKenna College. 'He's going to lose political
capital no matter what he does.'
"'When you don't have a crisis
over your head, you can make compromises and get over
it. But when
you're looking at a $20 billion deficit, it's not a minor problem, but
a major headache," said Larry Gerston, a political science professor at
San Jose State University.
"And the governor won't be able to count on the economy turning
around any time soon to help remove that headache,
said Esmael Adibi,
director of Anderson Center for Economic Research at
Chapman University.
"'I believe the economy has already entered recession
both nationally
and at the state level,' he said. 'And this will last through 2009. In
fact, the best we can expect right now is that the
economy will bottom
out by early 2009.'
"That puts Schwarzenegger in a real bind, pundits say.
"While proposing more cuts in spending will cause even
more criticism
of the governor by groups that are impacted by them,
raising taxes
would also result in disdain from Schwarzenegger's political base of
fiscal conservatives such as business group.
"With
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger set to unveil his revised
budget this week,
Republican legislators have announced a series of proposals
they said
would save money and help the state run more efficiently," reports Mike Zapler in the Merc News.
"But
some of the ideas already have been rejected by Democrats.
And even if
they were adopted, the GOP proponents could not say
how much they would
save.
"One proposal,
opposed by unions and rejected by Democrats in 2006, would allow public
schools and community colleges to hire private companies
to do
janitorial and maintenance work.
"Another, advocated by
Schwarzenegger but killed in an Assembly committee,
would authorize the
state to enter into partnerships with the private sector
on
transportation and other public works projects.
"Another proposal would create a searchable public database
detailing every state expenditure higher than $1,000."
We'll see what everyone else comes up with later this
week...
Meanwhile, in addition to loads of budget fun, we've got some great elections three weeks from now, such
as the battle in the bay.
"The 59-year-old [Carole] Migden, who
has been in political office since she was elected
to the San Francisco
Board of Supervisors in 1990, has plenty of fences to mend if she wants
another four years in her Third Senate District seat,
which includes
half of San Francisco, Marin County and Sonoma County
north to Rohnert
Park," writes John Wildermuth in the Chron.
"In August, she pleaded no contest to misdemeanor reckless
driving
after a wild, 30-mile ride down Interstate 80, weaving through traffic,
bouncing off the center divider and finally rear-ending a car. In
March, she agreed to pay a record $350,000 fine to the state for
campaign finance violations that included personal
use of campaign
funds.
"Migden argued that many of the violations were the
result of sloppy
bookkeeping and that her campaign had reported many
of the violations
to the Fair Political Practices Commission. She also
won a legal battle
against the political watchdog agency that allowed
her to use more than
$600,000 from previous campaigns.
"'I regret that chapter of my career, but I've done what's responsible ... paying my fine and taking responsibility,' she said.
"One of Migden's opponents already has written her off. At just about
every campaign stop, Leno, 56, describes the race as a two-person
contest between him and Nation. The 51-year-old challenger from the
North Bay, meanwhile, defines himself as independent-minded.
"Leno said Nation's vote against a Democrat-backed single-payer
health care plan, his opposition to financial privacy
legislation and
his criticism of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's approval of gay
marriage show that he is out of step with voters in
the district.
"By contrast, Leno said, he has voted to protect the
most vulnerable
people by pushing bills making it harder to evict renters
and backing
gay marriage - issues, he said, that "no one had brought up before."
"'This race isn't about geography, it's about ideology,' Leno told
about 40 people at a fundraiser in San Francisco's Mission District. 'San Francisco values are not just in San Francisco,
so we have to get
active, progressive Democrats out to vote.'"
The Bee's Peter Hecht profiles Tom McClintock.
"To his devotees, state Sen. Tom McClintock is a righteous defender
of the Constitution and an unrepentant fighter for
reining in
government spending.
"To his detractors, the conservative populist
and revered orator is a lone wolf who refuses to bend
even when his
closest colleagues are preaching compromise.
"'Lincoln said, 'I am
not bound to win, but I am bound to be true,' ' said McClintock, a
22-year state lawmaker. 'I have stayed true to my convictions.'
"McClintock, the Thousand Oaks lawmaker now running
for Congress in
Northern California's 4th District, is a man as consistent in his
principles as he is complex in his politics and approach
to governance.
"During
14 years in the state Assembly and nearly eight in the
Senate,
McClintock's principles of limited government have led him to
pass few
pieces of legislation – even for a member of the minority party.
"Yet
he is famous for helping lead the charge to roll back
the motor vehicle
registration fee – or "car tax." He is hailed by deficit hawks for
voting "no" on nearly every state budget and lauded by free-market
advocates for resisting bills that intrude on the sanctity
of private
business.
"Yet even some Republicans see
McClintock as a legislative obstructionist. They say
he cultivates an
image as a conservative purist but accomplishes little
of substance.
"'I
was around Republican lawmakers who worked with a Democratic
majority,
and often a Republican governor, to get things done
in the context of
the reality of politics,' said Republican analyst Tony Quinn, a
legislative staffer when McClintock started in the
Assembly in 1982. 'Tom acts as if the reality is not there. He serves
his ideology first.'"
Ouch.
Anyone?
"One of McClintock's conservative supporters, former Assemblyman and
Sen. Ray Haynes, said McClintock stood out in the Republican caucus
for
refusing to water down GOP legislation or support Democratic
bills as
part of political horse-trading.
"'If Tom has any challenges with
legislative politics, it is that he is not very good
at playing on a
team,' Haynes said. 'There are times, for team unity, to give up being
right and join the team. Tom always had a challenge
doing that.'
Maybe he should get some tips from John Benoit...
"McClintock
said he refuses to 'beg for table scraps' on Republican legislation in
exchange for 'supporting the majority party's agenda.'"
The LAT's Nancy Vogel has Fabian Nunez's political obituary today. "Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, the gardener's son who rose from a San
Diego barrio to one of California's most powerful posts, leaves office
Tuesday having arguably fulfilled a vow he made when he was
sworn in
four years ago: to renew his chamber's prestige as "the house of ideas,' reports the LAT's Nancy Vogel.
"But
by many accounts, the Los Angeles Democrat and former
labor leader
failed to keep another pledge: to restore citizens' faith in government.
"As he hands overthe
sprawling, sometimes chaotic house to his fellow Angeleno
and chosen
successor, Democratic Assemblywoman Karen Bass, he leaves a legacy as
one of the most effective leaders since voters imposed
term limits 18
years ago. He put his name on landmark laws, but he
also tarnished his
public image with self-indulgent spending of political donations.
"The longest-serving speaker since Willie Brown stepped down in
1995 after a nearly 15-year reign, Nuñez
forged a productive relationship with a larger-than-life celebrity
governor to tackle issues dear to Californians: global warming, school
funding, the widespread lack of health insurance.
"He brought
order to a house known for rambling rhetorical debates,
angered the
unions that fostered his political career and excelled
at fundraising,
one of a speaker's key functions. He will leave Bass, he said, with
roughly $4 million to use against
"Republicans in November, when every
seat in the Assembly will be up for grabs.
"But Nuñez also spent
tens of thousands of donated dollars on foreign travel,
fine wines,
expensive meals, exclusive hotel stays and luxury goods
-- expenditures
not obviously related to government or politics, as
state law dictates."
The Bee's Steve Weigand writes: "Back in February, Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D–San Rafael,
introduced AB 2820. It required utility companies to transmit
electricity from renewable sources generated by a local
public agency
to another local public agency. "Sounds simple enough.
"But it
turns out there was another bill by Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa
Cruz, that did sort of the same thing. And since Laird
outranks
Huffman, seniority-wise, Huffman wisely amended the contents of his
bill into Laird's.
"Only this left Huffman with an empty bill. So
AB 2820 then became a measure that declared that liquor stores
don't
have to put alcoholic beverages into paper bags before
they can be
carried out the door.
"Only according to the Alcoholic Beverage
Control Department, there is no current requirement
about booze and
paper bags, although they apparently get a lot of calls
from retailers
asking about the requirement.
"Oh, yeah, AB 2820. It now resides dormant in the Rules Committee. Anyone
need an empty bill?"
Is the Vallejo bankruptcy just a ruse? "By declaring bankruptcy,
Vallejo has thrust itself into the national spotlight as a
test case
for thousands of floundering cities desperate to unload
their
extravagant public employee contracts," writes Carolyn Jones in the Chron.
"Battered by the plummeting housing market and skyrocketing
public
employee contracts, Vallejo made dubious history Tuesday
night by
becoming the largest California city to declare bankruptcy.
The North
Bay city of 117,000 was on track to start the fiscal year July 1 with a
$16 million deficit and no money in reserve.
"By declaring Chapter 9 bankruptcy, the city hopes to freeze its
debts and gain time to renegotiate its police and fire
contracts, which
comprise about 74 percent of its $80 million general fund budget. It
also hopes a judge will void part or all of the contracts,
allowing the
city and unions to start from scratch.
"Because so few public entities have declared bankruptcy,
no one's
sure how labor contracts will be affected. Vallejo's public safety
unions have vowed to fight the proceedings, arguing
that the city has
plenty of money stashed in hidden accounts and is using
bankruptcy to
avoid paying police and fire fighters what they're owed."
"Bay Meadows, which opened in 1934 and hosted some of the greatest
horses in history, including the legendary Seabiscuit,
is scheduled to
be torn down and the 83 acres will be turned into a home and office
complex.
"There will be one last gasp of racing during the San
Mateo County
Fair August 6 through 17, but Sunday was, for all intents and purposes,
the culmination of a once grand but long dying tradition
in the San
Francisco Bay Area.
"It will mean the end of live horse racing in San Mateo
County. San
Bruno's once popular track, Tanforan, is now the site of
a shopping
center. When Bay Meadows is gone, Golden Gate Fields in Albany
will be
the only track left in the Bay Area, where fewer people
seem to
appreciate the raw spectacle of the ancient sport.
The AP reports that Wisconsin is still cheesier than California. "Cheeseheads don't need to be bleu: Experts say predictions that
California will soon overtake Wisconsin as the nation's top cheese
producer are unlikely to come true.
"The Golden State and its cows
gained quickly on Wisconsin in the past decade, but
cheese plants in
California are maxing out, while efforts to boost production
in
Wisconsin are paying off, said Dick Groves, longtime
owner of the
Madison-based trade publication, Cheese Reporter.
Cheese Reporter?
And here's a sneak peak at next year's legislation.
"Speeding drivers in south China are
getting clear away thanks to machines which switch the numbers
on their licence plates in seconds , state media said on
Tuesday.
"'More than 50 percent of cars caught on camera for speeding
and other offences either cover up their plates or
use a fake
license plate,' a traffic policeman in the Guangdong city of
Yangjiang was quoted by the Beijing Youth Daily as
saying."
We're taking bets now on how long it takes for a California
lawmaker to introduce a bill banning these machines...
