"California may find it hard to borrow the $23.3 billion that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed
to ease the state's financial crisis, the Legislature's nonpartisan analyst said Thursday," report Jordan Rau and Patrick McGreevy in the Times.
"The spending plan Schwarzenegger outlined Dec. 31 for the next 18 months relies on borrowing $5 billion against future state lottery earnings, $7 billion in new infrastructure bonds and $11.3 billion in short-term borrowing so that the state does not run out of
money.
"Schwarzenegger has depicted his proposal, which he
intends to formally submit to the Legislature today,
as the only financially responsible solution to a budget
gap estimated to reach $41.6 billion by the middle of next year.
"But Legislative Analyst
Mac Taylor questioned the degree of borrowing Schwarzenegger
is requesting, given the turbulent credit markets and
investors' shaky faith in the ability of California lawmakers
to fix the state's fiscal problems.
"'There is major uncertainty about the state's ability to access the capital markets for anywhere
close to this volume of financing over the next 18 months,' Taylor wrote in his report.
"Taylor said it was not clear whether it would be legal
to use short-term debt to balance the state's budget, as the governor has proposed. He also noted
that voters would need to approve the lottery plan,
necessitating a special election, preferably in the
spring.
"
H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for Schwarzenegger's Department of Finance, did not dispute those concerns."
Matthew Yi and Wyatt Buchanan report for the Chron:
"Taylor also reiterated the urgency of the state's financial plight.
"'In November, we used words like dire, bleak and awful
and since
then the problem has gotten a lot worse,' he said. 'And we're running
out of adjectives.'"
And, that Big 5 meeting yesterday wasn't exactly a marathon, as it lasted about long enough
to get everyone's coffee orders.
"Legislative leaders emerging from a 20-minute meeting with the governor said they plan to continue negotiating."
"In the nonpartisan office's first take on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to close a $40 billion budget gap over the next 18 months, Taylor suggested the Legislature call an election for April, perhaps asking voters to decide the confounding issue
of whether taxes should be raised," reports Kevin Yamamura in the Bee.
"Taylor said a quick election is necessary because lawmakers
and the governor must know soon whether to rely on
solutions like selling future California Lottery revenues
for $5 billion or taking $500 million from dedicated tax streams. If voters reject
those proposals, lawmakers would have to find multibillion-dollar alternatives on top of other taxes and spending
cuts.
"'The benefits in doing it early are that should the
voters not accept those proposals, the Legislature
would know and have time to react in order to get a
budget in place on July 1,' he said."
Dan Walters likes the idea of a special election considering the
tax issue.
"California's plunging property values have already clobbered homeowners,
but now the trend is promising pain for struggling counties, cities and
schools that rely upon property taxes — a downward shift unseen in decades," writes Karen de Sa in the Merc News.
"'It's the first time since the Great Depression that we've had a negative growth in property taxes that are
the heart and soul of local government services,' said Paul McIntosh, executive director of the California State Association
of Counties.
"As of Jan. 1, county assessors begin determining the values of
homes, office buildings and shopping malls, with dire
forecasts looming. The state Legislative Analyst's Office on Thursday released projections of a decline
of more than 4 percent in the fiscal year that began July 1. In a report recently released by the nonprofit California
Forward, some economists go even further, predicting
a 5 percent decrease in property taxes, followed by at
least two more years of negative growth.
"The same report, using state Department of Finance
figures, predicts California's total property tax revenue will "fall by over 10 percent before finding a bottom."
"The plunge grants some short-term relief for property owners who will get a break
on this year's tax bill. But the lowered tax rates shrink funding
for public services that all Californians rely upon,
from health and welfare programs to police and fire
protection."
"The Proposition 8 campaign has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality
of California laws that require campaign contributors
to disclose personal information, claiming donors to the campaign have been threatened," reports Aurelio Rojas in the Bee.
"The suit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in
Sacramento, cites numerous examples of threatening
e-mails, phone calls and postcards – including death threats – allegedly made by opponents of the November ballot
measure that banned same-sex marriage in the state."
After all, the anti-gay marriage side never plays those games...
"Ron Prentice, chairman of the Yes on 8 campaign, charged the harassment was made possible
by the state's 'unconstitutional campaign finance disclosure rules.'
"California's Political Reform Act, which voters approved in 1974, requires the name, occupation and employer of any
individual who makes a campaign contribution of $100 or more."
The Chron's Carla Marinucci looks at a rarely talked about historical fact about
Jerry Brown and gay marriage.
"California Attorney General Jerry Brown has become a hero to gay rights advocates - and a potential leader in the 2010 Democratic gubernatorial field - with his recent controversial decision to mount a
legal challenge to overturn Proposition 8, the initiative approved by voters that banned-same sex marriage in California.
"But few remember that 32 years ago, when Brown was governor of California,
he played a crucial role on the same issue - he signed the landmark bill that changed the state's definition of marriage from a contract between two
persons to one specifically between a man and a woman.
"At the time, proponents of the bill praised it as one
that would "outlaw marriages between homosexuals."
"The author of that bill, former Republican Assemblyman
Bruce Nestande of Orange County, told The Chronicle this week that
he wrote AB 607 to specifically limit marriage to being between a
man and a woman. He won support from conservatives
such as state Sen. John Briggs of Fullerton, who would later author the notorious
but unsuccessful Briggs Initiative that attempted to
ban gays from working in public schools. Briggs carried
Nestande's bill in the Senate and said it would "restore some sense of morality to the state of California."
"Brown said Thursday that his decision to sign the bill,
without comment, was largely technical - and "totally appropriate" for the time. He said he was simply clarifying "legislative intent" of the era, in which marriage was assumed to be between
man and woman."
How telling that Nestande's son is now an Assemblyman, while Brown, well, may
be our next governor...
"State Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) has decided not to seek to represent East Los Angeles
and the San Gabriel Valley in Congress, according to a statement released Thursday," writes Evelyn Larrubia for the Times.
"Romero said she would instead run for state superintendent
of public instruction.
"'My passion is education,' she explained.
"Romero was among the first politicians to declare her
interest in replacing Rep. Hilda Solis (D-El Monte) after President-elect Barack Obama chose Solis to head the Labor Department.
"Judy Chu, chairwoman of the state Board of Equalization, announced
her candidacy Dec. 22.
"Romero said she is endorsing state Sen. Gilbert Cedillo
(D-Los Angeles), who announced his candidacy Thursday."
Gotta imagine there's more to this story...
"In a decision with broad implications for health care
consumers, the California Supreme Court has ruled that medically insured patients may not be
billed for emergency care that their health plans refuse
to pay," writes Bobby Calvan in the Bee.
"In a unanimous decision released Thursday, the high
court provided strong support to patient advocates
who claimed that emergency room doctors and hospitals
were unfairly going after consumers and putting patients
in the middle of billing disputes with health maintenance
organizations, or HMOs.
"But the court declined to inject itself into the emotionally
and politically charged debate over what constitutes
reasonable charges and payments, long a sticking point
between medical providers and insurers – and the underlying controversy over the practice known
as balance billing."
Meanwhile, the war between citrus growers and bee keepers continues. AP reports, "Is it trespassing when bees do what bees do in California's tangerine groves?
"That
is the question being weighed by state agriculture
officials caught
between beekeepers who prize orange blossom honey and
citrus growers
who blame the bees for causing otherwise seedless mandarin
oranges to
develop pips.
"Both sides are unwilling to give any ground, and
both have valid points,'' said Jerry Prieto, the former Fresno County
agricultural commissioner who has spent six months
mediating the
dispute.
"The fight comes amid a worldwide consumer taste shift
toward seedless grapes, watermelons and tangerines
-- at the same time
the nation's struggling bee colonies look for winter food.
"The
California Department of Food and Agriculture is scheduled
to issue
draft regulations this month that will require beekeepers
to register
their locations with county agricultural commissioners
by March 1 so
growers can monitor hives within two miles of their
groves. If bees are
too close, growers can ask beekeepers to move and hope
they comply."
And we close today with something from our Stupid PETA Tricks file.
"A campaign to rename fish as "sea kittens" in order to improve their image has been ridiculed by the Federal Opposition.
Outspoken animal rights group People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA) is using the "sea kitten" name as part of its push to restrict fishing.
"'Nobody would hurt a sea kitten!' the group says on its website.
"People don't seem to like fish.
"'We're going to start by retiring the old name for good.'
"'When
your name can also be used as a verb that means driving
a hook through
your head, it's time for a serious image makeover.'
"The website features images of fish with cats' whiskers and ears.
"PETA
is using the campaign to entice people to sign a petition
calling on
the US Fish and Wildlife Service to stop promoting
"the hunting of sea
kittens (otherwise known as fishing)".
With the increasing frequency and stupidity of these
media stunts, we've come up with a new name for PETA: "Arnold Schwarzenegger."
