""Senate Democratic leaders Wednesday proposed an $11.5 billion tax increase to solve the state's budget gap - more than double the tax increase proposed by their
counterparts in the Assembly," reports Edwin Garcia in the Merc News.
"The larger tax proposal stems from the decision by
Senate officials to resist counting on an expanded
lottery, which would have to be approved by the Legislature
this summer and go before voters in November, to increase
revenue for the fiscal year that starts July 1.
"Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, and his chief budget negotiator, Denise Moreno Ducheny, D-Chula Vista, rejected plans to count on an expanded
lottery, proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, before
voters approve the concept.
"'How do you do something in November that's supposed to help you on July 1 of this year?' Perata asked at a news conference where he repeatedly
criticized Schwarzenegger's plan to close the $15.2 billion deficit. 'What's wrong with his budget is, it doesn't fund next year. His proposal on the lottery simply
is prospective.'
"Under Schwarzenegger's proposal, if the lottery plan fails at the polls,
a backup 1-cent sales tax would take effect.
"Schwarzenegger's spokesman defended the proposal and said the governor
is glad Senate Democrats "finally put some ideas on the table," but rejected the call for taxes. 'We believe that Californians are sending enough of
their money to Sacramento,' said Press Secretary
Aaron McLear, 'and we ought to live within our means.'"
Capitol Weekly's John Howard reports how a gubernatorial veto which benefitted Michael Peevey
could cost the state $3 billion.
"When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used his veto power
to eliminate the obscure Electricity Oversight Board,
he put at risk $3 billion in state funds – money due the state from settlements with power merchants
who victimized California during the electricity crisis.
"The governor’s 2007 action removing the EOB also means oversight over
the state’s electricity grid is likely to be placed under the
control of the PUC, which would entail a significant
expansion of the authority of the Public Utilities
Commission.
"This maneuvering comes amid an intensifying power clash
between the Legislature and the Public Utilities Commission,
led by president Michael Peevey.
"Now that the EOB no longer exists, it is unclear what
will happen to those settlement payments. That has
gotten the attention of the attorney general’s office, and Democratic lawmakers.
“The A.G. (attorney general) had been trying to work around the absence of an EOB
signature. However, the settlements are at risk of
falling through…,” Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, the head of the Assembly
Utilities and Commerce Committee wrote the governor.
“The longer the EOB is absent, the amount at stake will
continue and may reach the hundreds of millions of
dollars in losses to ratepayers. The PUC estimates
the total outstanding claims that ratepayers won’t recover as ‘up to $2
billion.’ The AG quantifies the total outstanding claims plus
interest as exceeding $3 billion.”
Capitol Weekly also looks at a telecom bill, authored by Sen. Alex Padilla, that
had many Democratic Senators and staffers whispering.
"Over the last two months, Sen. Alex Padilla, D Los
Angeles, guided
a controversial bill through the Senate committee process,
with some help from Republicans and moderate Democrats.
But Senate leader Don Perata intervened, citing a breech
in senatorial decorum, and exiled the bill to legislative
purgatory.
"The story of SB 1389 ultimately shows the power the Pro Tem has over the
Senate. It is also a story about Padilla, a former
president of the Los Angeles City Council and Sacramento
freshman, who was tagged as a rising star even before
he took office. The bill’s Senate journey also raises issues of what some Senate
observers say is an evolving set of rules of etiquette
in the post term-limits era.
"Senate sources say Perata killed the bill because its
passage violated a fundamental rule of the Senate – defer to the committee chairmen. Padilla says he was
in constant communication with the heads of both committees
that heard the bill – Senate Energy Chairwoman Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, and Appropriations Chairman Tom Torlakson,
D-Antioch – and that any breach of etiquette was accidental.
"
“There wasn’t a step during the process at any point where I wasn’t in full communication with my colleagues, especially
the chairs of the two committees as well as the pro
tem’s office,” Padilla said.
CW's Malcolm Maclachlan features the woman who is the self-described gatekeeper of state governing boards.
"Julianne D’Angelo Fellmeth might be the Zelig of state professional
boards. Along with her husband, Robert Fellmeth, and
the organization he founded 28 years ago, the Center for Public
Interest Law (CPIL), she is on a quest to change the way professional
boards are governed in California: more transparency, more public
input, and stronger
disciplinary enforcement against professionals who
break their code of conduct.
"To their critics, the Fellmeths and CPIL are opportunists
with little understanding of the professions they’re meddling with—and
who sometimes end up harming the public they claim
to protect. Others question CPIL’s importance, dismiss them as media
hounds, or say
the group is mainly pursuing lucrative contracts to
monitor the very type of aggressive enforcement they’re pushing. The
Fellmeth’s critics among professional organizations are many.
Their critics who will speak on the record are far
fewer in number—something that some attribute to the sway the CPIL
holds over several legislators and boards."
George Skelton looks at California Forward's recommendations for budget reform.
"* Requiring new or expanded programs -- whether created by the Legislature or ballot initiative
-- to contain a specific funding source. That could be
either new taxes or money gleaned from another program
that is eliminated.
"* Regularly examining spending programs to determine
whether they should be revised, reduced or rubbed out.
"* Also regularly reviewing tax loopholes to see if they're still needed: "Treat tax breaks like spending."
"* Creating a rainy-day fund fed by unexpected tax gushes. When revenue
dwindles, dip into the fund. Or use it for one-time public works projects or even tax rebates.
"* Modernizing the tax system "to reflect the contemporary economy." Extend the sales tax to services while reducing the
overall tax rate.
"* Focusing on multiyear spending plans, rather than
merely passing one-year budgets.
"* Granting more power and responsibility to local governments.
"* Changing the two-thirds majority vote requirement for budget passage.
It wasn't suggested what the vote should be, but any change
must be tied to 'other reforms designed to improve performance, accountability
and public trust.'"
"The reformers are prepared to take their proposals
to the ballot in 2010 if they're ignored by the Legislature. But they're hoping the lawmakers will adopt at least incremental
changes. A good time to start will be during this summer's budget negotiations. The reforms could "give Republicans a little comfort on spending and how
tax dollars are used," Panetta theorizes.
"But first the politicians have to start talking to
each other.
"Here's a suggestion: Turn off the BlackBerrys and cellphones.
"Better yet, lock them in a desk. Look people in the
eye. Smile. Sit down and deal."
The Bee's Peter Hecht reports that, like the budget deadline,
the cell-phone law deadline is quickly approaching.
"Beginning July 1, adult drivers in California can be pulled over and
ticketed if they are spotted talking on a hand-held phone. And things will get even tougher for teenagers.
"Drivers under 18 using any cell phone – including hands-free devices that will still be allowed for adults
– risk getting a ticket. Violations for both adults
and juveniles will carry fines and penalties totaling
$76 for a first offense and $190 for a second offense."
Don't worry, reading The Roundup on your iPhone while driving
is still allowed.
"The new phone use laws are being hyped with fanfare
and finger-wagging by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and top state
law enforcement officials. At a Capitol news conference,
the governor boasted of setting his two daughters straight,
warning: 'If I catch them driving with cell phones in their hands
or making any calls, the car will be gone and the cell
phone will be gone.'
"Some researchers question whether the governor's tough love or law enforcement's pledge to begin ticketing drivers as the laws take
effect can curtail Californians' cellular chatting behind the wheel.
"A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
released Monday said cell phone use among teenage drivers
in North Carolina had actually increased five months
after that state banned calls from cars for teens in
2006."
"California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday
announced a plan to prevent oil spills such as the one in San Francisco Bay last year - but ignored a package of bills developed by Bay Area
lawmakers after emergency public hearings," writes Steve Geissinger in the Merc News.
"Schwarzenegger said in a statement that his plan provides
"the tools we need to prevent another devastating oil
spill of the magnitude we saw last fall."
"Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-El Cerrito, called the plan nothing but "window dressing" on serious shortcomings in the state oil spill prevention
and response efforts.
"In November, the Cosco Busan cargo ship struck the
San Francisco Bay Bridge, spilling more than 53,000 gallons of thick oil into the bay, fouling waters
and killing wildlife. The Republican governor's plan will make changes in agencies' administrative procedures, as well as support two
bills that deal with inland oil spills and another
that ensures first-responder training."
"Sales of flavored malt beverages like Smirnoff Ice
and Barcardi Silver will be taxed as if they were distilled spirits rather than beer under new rules that take effect
this fall, a state tax agency said Wednesday," reports Andrew McIntosh in the Bee.
"London-based Diageo PLC, one of the world's biggest players in the sector, vowed in a statement
that it will sue to have the rules overturned.
"The decision by the Board of Equalization comes after
a two-year policy review, divisive public hearings and state
agency infighting. It is expected to generate about
$41.4 million in taxes for state coffers every year, Board
of Equalization spokeswoman Anita Gore said.
"For consumers, it could mean hefty price increases
for the popular alcoholic drinks, sometimes called
"alcopops."
"The board approved the new regulations April 8 to clarify the definition of "distilled spirits" under California's Alcoholic Beverage Tax law."
Well, you can probably thank the struggling economy.
But it looks like many California high school seniors
are choosing to go to public school. The Chron's Tanya Schevitz reports on the booming enrollment at the University of California.
"More than half the freshmen
offered admission to the University of California's nine undergraduate
campuses have said they will come in the fall, giving
the university
its largest first-year class in history.
"According to figures released Wednesday, 39,212 of the 76,875
applicants granted admission have filed a statement
of intent to
register with the university for fall. That's 51 percent.
"The university is very pleased that we were able to
admit so many
students. It was a very positive outcome," said Susan Wilbur, UC's
director of undergraduate admissions. "All of the campuses met their
enrollment goals."
With the addition of new majors and the opening of
more classroom,
recreation and housing facilities, UC Merced saw a
dramatic increase in
the number of students who said they plan to attend,
growing from 701
last year to 1,069 this year, she said.
"A closely watched obscenity trial in Los Angeles federal
court was suspended Wednesday after the judge acknowledged maintaining his own publicly
accessible website featuring sexually explicit photos
and videos," reports Scott Glover in the Times.
"Alex Kozinski, chief judge of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, granted a 48-hour stay in the obscenity trial of a Hollywood adult
filmmaker after the prosecutor requested time to explore
'a potential conflict of interest concerning the court
having a . . . sexually explicit website with similar
material to what is on trial here.'
"In an interview Tuesday with The Times, Kozinski acknowledged
posting sexual content on his website. Among the images on the site were a photo of naked
women on all fours painted to look like cows and a
video of a half-dressed man cavorting with a sexually aroused farm
animal. He defended some of the adult content as "funny" but conceded that other postings were inappropriate.
"Kozinski, 57, said that he thought the site was for his private
storage and that he was not aware the images could
be seen by the public, although he also said he had
shared some material on the site with friends. After
the interview Tuesday evening, he blocked public access
to the site.
"Kozinski is one of the nation's highest-ranking judges and has been mentioned as a possible
candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court. He was named
chief judge of the 9th Circuit last year and is considered a judicial conservative
on most issues. He was appointed to the federal bench
by President Reagan in 1985.
"Among the sexually explicit material on his site that
he defended as humorous were two photos. In one, a
young man is bent over in a chair and performing fellatio
on himself. In the other, two women are sitting in
what appears to be a cafe with their skirts hiked up
to reveal their pubic hair and genitalia. Behind them
is a sign reading 'Bush for President.'"
"'That is a funny joke,' Kozinski said."
'Nuff said.
