"State lawmakers passed a budget early Tuesday -- 78 days into the fiscal year -- even as it remained unclear whether Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
would sign it into law," report Evan Halper and Jordan Rau in the Times.
"As the state Senate and Assembly approved the bipartisan
package, Schwarzenegger was threatening a veto. He
said the spending restraints in the proposal were too
weak, creating a rainy day fund that could too easily
be raided.
"Schwarzenegger spokesman
Matt David said the reserve that the plan would create is 'nothing more than a slush fund that can be raided at
any point and up to any amount.'"
What's wrong with that?
"Legislative leaders expressed confidence that they
had the votes to override a gubernatorial veto. But
Schwarzenegger retains some leverage: He has yet to act on nearly 1,000 bills passed in the final weeks of this year's session.
"As deliberations dragged into the early-morning hours, lawmakers attached last-minute demands to the spending package. Among them
was a bill exempting high-tech companies from some labor rules, which both houses
approved. Last-minute attempts to pass tax credits for movie companies,
reverse a court order blocking the construction of
a power plant and lift bans on billboards in certain
Southern California communities were rejected.
"In a deal forged by Senate and Assembly leaders last
weekend, lawmakers had agreed to a plan that would
avoid tax increases and deep cuts in services by pushing
the state's financial problems into the future. The budget includes
$106.4 billion in general fund spending, plus tens of billions
of dollars more from voter-approved bonds and other special funds."
Capitol Weekly reports:
"Before the ink was even dry on a new state budget,
some labor leaders were already talking about going
to the ballot to repeal a key provision of the deal.
"As details of the proposed budget deal between Legislative
leaders emerged Monday, the Service Employees International
Union and other labor groups were already contemplating
enlisting voters to get rid of the pieces of the deal
they didn’t like. In particular, unions do not like provisions
of the budget that they say could lead to billions
in corporate tax breaks, and reduced revenues to the
state.
"'SEIU has serious questions about new tax cuts for wealthy
corporations which, in our view, will likely result
in deep cuts to health care, education and other vital
community services,” said one senior union official who declined
to be identified. 'We are already hearing from others who want to explore
a ballot initiative to repeal these corporate tax cuts
and protect California communities. It's a possibility.' The unions began developing their initiative even as
the Legislature worked into the night on the budget.
"Monday morning, an email was being circulated from
Lenny Goldberg of the California Tax Reform Association warning allies
of the details in the budget deal.
"'In exchange for a small amount of temporary short-term revenues, the Legislature is poised to open two
vast new loopholes in the corporation tax, loopholes
which will continue indefinitely,' the email stated. 'The impact will be to greatly diminish the corporation
tax at future costs to education, health care, and
public safety. This is a huge giveaway to multinational
corporations.'”
Ed Mendel said the budget wasn't exactly going to win the Legislature the red badge
of courage. And Dan Walters says the revenue projections are a "sham."
"
They had to be kidding. Nobody could have dreamed up
a less
responsible, more gimmicky, sure-to-backfire state budget than the one
California's political leaders cobbled together and were jamming
through the Legislature on Monday night to end a months-long stalemate.
"But
it wasn't a joke, or at least not a funny one. They violated
every
principle of fiscal responsibility by conjuring up
billions of dollars
in sham revenues – basically money borrowed from corporate and personal
taxpayers that would have to be paid back later – to cover a huge
deficit so they could blow town.
"As details of the "compromise" emerged from the Capitol on Monday,
the Bay Area Council renewed its call for a constitutional
convention
to overhaul state government.
"This year's budget deadlock shows
better than perhaps any other recent event that our
state needs a
constitutional convention to fix a governance system
that is hopelessly
broken," said the council's president, Jim Wunderman.
Now the real fun begins. The Assembly sent 450 bills to the governor yesterday, and the Senate had
another 400 sitting at its desk.
And already, the lobbying is underway. Among the most
contested bills is a so-called balance billing measure by Sen. Don Perata,
D-Oakland.
The American College of Emergency Physicians has launched a new Web site to lobby for the bill's passage.
Should be a fun couple of weeks...
Despite their disgust with state government, the Bee's Peter Hecht writes, "[b]y an overwhelming margin, voters don't believe Schwarzenegger should be recalled from office . And that isn't good news for the state's powerful prison guards union.
"Last week, the well-financed California Correctional Peace Officers Association
launched a recall bid against the Republican governor
after failing to win a new contract as Schwarzenegger
and lawmakers floundered without a budget agreement.
"But so far, voters are mostly turning a deaf ear to
the guards' recall effort.
"By more than a 2-1 ratio, voters in a new state Field Poll say they would
vote against a recall if such a measure qualifies for
the ballot. And an overwhelming majority of all voters – 92 percent of Republicans, 67 percent of Democrats and 73 percent of nonpartisan voters – say holding a recall election would be a bad thing
for California."
"The poll suggests that Schwarzenegger is far less vulnerable
than
former Gov. Gray Davis, who was recalled by voters
in October 2003. In
April, soon after the Davis recall effort was announced,
voters had
already embraced the idea of forcing him from office
by a margin of 46
percent to 43 percent."
"Billing himself as a businessman with political experience,
insurance commissioner and former high-tech executive Steve Poizner on Monday took the first official step
in his widely expected run for governor in 2010," reports Mary Anne Ostrom in the Merc News.
"The Republican who lives in Los Gatos formed an exploratory
committee that allows him to begin raising money in
the race to replace Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who
is termed out.
"Independently wealthy, Poizner, 51, has contributed heavily to his own campaigns and
GOP-friendly initiatives. Other than Schwarzenegger, he
was the only Republican to win statewide office in
2006. Poizner contributed $12 million to his successful run for insurance commissioner.
"First, Poizner will have to navigate a GOP primary.
Earlier this summer, former Silicon Valley congressman
and Schwarzenegger finance director Tom Campbell formed an exploratory committee. Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, a billionaire, is also believed to be interested
in running for the state's top job. All three are considered social moderates
and fiscal conservatives.
"On the Democratic side for the 2010 race, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Lt. Governor John Garamendi have formed exploratory committees. Other Democrats
widely believed to be considering a run include Attorney
General Jerry Brown, who served as governor from 1975-1983, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell. U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein has not discouraged speculation that she may be interested
in running, too."
"A bitter lawsuit between the tribe that owns the Cache
Creek Casino
Resort and their longtime attorney has been settled
out of court," the Bee's Hudson Sangree reports.
"In the past year, the Rumsey Band of Wintun
Indians and noted tribal lawyer Howard Dickstein have
fought a very
public war of words.
"The tribe publicized its dramatic lawsuit in
October. Dickstein denied claims of wrongdoing and
revealed aspects of
the tribe's vast wealth.
"The suit claimed the tribe put its trust in Dickstein
and Opper,
starting when it was a small impoverished band in the
Capay Valley.
Tribal members reaped huge profits, but also were rewarded
with double-dealing, it claimed.
"The
Rumsey Band charged Dickstein and Opper with enriching
themselves at
the tribe's expense, while earning millions in professional fees."
"Gregory Lintner walked away from the deadly 2005 Metrolink crash in
Glendale — and was hailed as a hero — but died in last week's head-on
accident in Chatsworth, the LA Times reports.
"Last time, my husband came back," his wife, Michelle, said in an
interview Monday in her native Korean, her eyes red
from sobbing. "It
doesn't make sense that I can't touch him anymore."
Amazingly, "at least three people who survived the Glendale crash
in 2005 were on Metrolink 111 when it crashed Friday afternoon.
And finally, men everywhere take note.
"Police say a 20-year-old woman faces an aggravated assault charge after
she bit her boyfriend, broke a picture frame across his face and swung at him with a sword during
an argument about him not doing the dishes.
"The 21-year-old man told police that he became involved in an
argument because the woman was upset that the dishes
were not clean.
Police Lt. Paul Henderson said the woman told the man
to leave the
apartment, but he refused."
Let that be a warning to all of you...
