"Legislative leaders are weighing contingency plans for a potential fiscal
"doomsday" if a slate of ballot measures designed to balance
the state budget fails in the May 19 special election," reports Eric Bailey in the Times.
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the bipartisan team
of lawmakers pushing the half-dozen propositions continue to insist that the campaign
has just begun and can still be won despite a recent
public opinion poll showing all but one measure trailing
badly.
"But, behind the scenes, elected leaders and staffers
have begun brainstorming additional budget cuts that
might be necessary. That effort comes little more than
a month after Schwarzenegger signed a budget that slashed
spending and raised taxes to fill a $42-billion deficit.
"The six ballot measures include several that would
combine to pump nearly $6 billion into the state's 2009-10 spending plan. Even with that revenue, the plunging
economy has already dug a potential $8-billion hole in next year's budget. If the propositions fail, the state could
face a $14-billion deficit that would grow by an additional $16 billion if Proposition 1A doesn't pass, according to the nonpartisan legislative analyst's office.
"Likely targets for deeper budget cuts include higher
education, public schools, transportation, the prisons
and healthcare, Capitol insiders say. The state also
could move to siphon some of the property tax revenue
that normally flows to municipalities."
"Californians will start feeling the pain of the recently
negotiated state budget fix on Wednesday, when a 1-cent increase in the state sales tax will force consumers to pay more for goods such as
cars, furniture, laptops and toys," reports the AP's Judy Lin.
"Starting Wednesday, California's sales tax will rise to 6 percent, bringing the average local sales tax rate
to almost 9 percent – one of the highest in the nation.
"Businesses and manufacturers are worried that the temporary
tax increase could prolong the worst recession in recent
memory and further dampen retail sales. In the coming
months, Californians will also see an increase in personal
income taxes and higher fees to license their vehicles."
"California Treasurer Bill Lockyer said in an interview that the state is talking with
Treasury Department staff, including Secretary Timothy Geithner, about getting federally issued letters of credit to back
upcoming issues of short-term securities known as revenue anticipation notes," report Laura Mandaro and Stacey Delo for MarketWatch.
"Lockyer also said the state will probably issue about
$12 billion to $16 billion revenue anticipation notes this summer.
But it may have trouble getting private banks to issue
letters of credit to secure the notes, a possibility
that's prompted it to seek government backup.
"'What we're starting to talk to them about is ... short-term liquidity problems" at the state and its municipalities, he said.
Backup from the federal government would be for "contingency" purposes. 'We may need to get letters of credit from Treasury,' he added."
And it looks like the first 'pro-temified' bill of the year has been jammed through the Senate.
"A measure that would require utilities to receive one-third of their power from renewable energy sources
by 2020 passed off the Senate floor Tuesday with the bare
minimum of 21 votes.
"The bill, SB 14 by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-San Jose, has been tagged as a top priority for Senate
leader Darrel Steinberg. The bill’s passage was the first major policy decision in which
Steinberg muscled a proposal out of his house, despite
reservations from many within his own party."
So how is a Republican supposed to get any ink in this
political climate? By taking on Google, of course.
"Citing reports of terrorists using Google Earth in
bloody attacks in Mumbai and elsewhere, a California
lawmaker wants close-in images of hospitals, schools, churches and key government
installations blurred out as a security precaution.
"'I don't want somebody siting in tent with a laptop halfway
around the world zeroing in on targets,' said Assemblyman Joel Anderson, R-El Cajon. Anderson said his legislation was prompted
by reports that terrorists used Google Earth software
to compile crucial data about attacks in Mumbai and
in Israel. 'They even picked out schools,' he said. Other companies, including Microsoft, make
online imagery and mapping software that could be affected
by Anderson's bill."
Anderson's proposal comes a little too late for this guy.
"Republican Bill Simon, who ran an unsuccessful 2002 gubernatorial campaign against Democrat Gray Davis, is considering a re-entry into California politics - as a candidate for lieutenant governor.
"Simon has received encouragement from party conservatives
while blogs like Red County have been talking it up.
He'd challenge GOP state Sen. Jeff Denham of Merced, who has expressed interest in the office.
"In that scenario, Hoover Institution media fellow Bill Whalen says, Simon's chances in a Republican primary would be "very good."
"Simon is admired in the state GOP as a "conservative's conservative" with "the money and name recognition to run a strong campaign," he said. And Simon has been fire-tested in a statewide race.
"Former Davis communications director Phil Trounstine, who co-authors Calbuzz.com, a political blog, said not so
fast: Simon has to clear hurdles to get back in the game."
"In the strongest signal yet of her political ambitions,
Carly Fiorina said Tuesday that she is "seriously considering" challenging U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer in next year's California Senate race," writes the Merc News's Frank Davies.
"Fiorina, who had surgery for breast cancer a month
ago, said she is about to begin chemotherapy at Stanford
Hospital, but then plans to resume a busy schedule.
"The former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, 54, was a highly visible supporter and economic adviser
to Republican Sen. John McCain in the 2008 presidential campaign.
"Fiorina was in Washington to discuss tech issues in
her new position as chair of the board of the Technology
Policy Institute, a small, nonpartisan think tank.
"Asked if her new post meant she was forgoing plans
for a political race, Fiorina said, 'I'm seriously considering a race in California,' and said Boxer's Senate seat was the contest she was weighing. She
said of the think tank post, 'I do not consider this a full-time job.'"
Meanwhile, "Lt. Gov. John Garamendi said goodbye Tuesday to senior campaign adviser Jude Barry, who opted not to continue work on the Democrat's long-shot gubernatorial bid. On his Facebook page, Barry
thanked Garamendi but said he had 'done all I can to help him. It doesn't feel right to just hang around the campaign.'"
"State Sen. Abel Maldonado, who faced searing political heat as a critical Republican
vote in a budget deal to rescue California from a $40 billion deficit, is calling out one of his fiercest critics – GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner.
"In a two-page missive to Poizner, Maldonado assailed his fellow
Republican as a political opportunist who contributed
nothing to solving the budget crisis.
"'Since the budget was passed, you have gone around the
state criticizing it and the role six Republicans played
in its passage,' Maldonado wrote. 'I am very disappointed that you would let the state
fall into financial ruin just to win a political campaign.'
"Maldonado lambasted Poizner, a wealthy Silicon Valley
executive who was elected insurance commissioner in
2006, for opposing May ballot initiatives intended to implement
features of the budget plan."
Meanwhile, former Senate leader Don Perata announced his candidacy for Oakland mayor. The Oakland Trib's Kelly Rayburn reports, "The 10-year state
senator had hinted for months he was considering a
run but said he
finalized his decision after attending the funeral
service for four
Oakland police officers Friday.
"'I've spent 22 years
representing Oakland in local and state government,
and it's hard to
stand by and be idle,' he said. Perata is a political heavyweight who
served four years as state Senate president pro tem,
when he was,
arguably, the most powerful Democrat in state government.
But candidate
Perata will bring plenty of baggage into the mayor's race, too.
"The
FBI has investigated Perata for more than five years,
trying to
determine whether he took kickbacks or bribes for official
favors,
perhaps through a network of friends and associates.
"Earlier
this year, the U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco told Perata's
attorneys the office would not file charges. But the
FBI subsequently
took their case to the Sacramento U.S. attorney's office, which agreed
to review the case. Perata said he hasn't heard anything about the case
since then.
"He said he doubts the investigation will hurt him
in the campaign and added that he will enter the race
as the "most
vetted candidate in the history of Oakland."
Dan Weintraub catches up with Robert Hertzberg about his new gig as co-chairman of California Forward.
"He does not yet have a blueprint for how that looks,
but if
you listen to him, you can hear some details creeping
in between the
lines. One is regionalism, long a pet subject of his,
and the idea that
much of the power now centralized in Sacramento should
be broken up and
transferred to governments closer to the people. Another
notion:
Partisanship is a form of government and politics that
has largely lost
its luster. Open primaries or even nonpartisan state
government along
the lines of what we have now in local government might
be something
Hertzberg one day supports.
"Whatever the details, though, you can
expect the theme to be a more nimble government, less
wed to ideology
and bureaucracies, and more focused, from the politicians
to the
clerks, on doing the basics well and serving the customer,
whether
that's a business seeking a permit, a student getting an
education or a
poor person needing public assistance."
"California has furloughed workers and slashed programs
to close a $41 billion budget gap, but it still has more than 400 judges in Los Angeles County who each make more than
the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court," reports the AP's Paul Elias.
"Judges in Tulare County still get free health club
memberships. Those in Kern County can count on a $600-a-month car allowance. And colleagues in other counties
get perks such as funds for "professional development" and money to buy extra health insurance.
"Eighteen of California's 58 counties give more than 800 superior court judges about $25 million a year in extra benefits on top of their $179,000 state salaries, even as they lay off employees and
reduce services amid the recession. The state picks
up the tab for extras in 19 counties.
"An appellate court found that some of the perks were
unconstitutional, but a lobbying effort by judges in
the Legislature has helped keep the benefits in place.
"Defenders of the system say the supplemental benefits
are necessary to attract and retain good lawyers, who
often take a pay cut to serve in the judiciary."
"Lawmakers on Tuesday held off acting on a bill to sell 157-year-old San Quentin State Prison and use the proceeds to build another death row facility
on cheaper land," reports Jon Ortiz in the Bee.
"It was the fourth time in four years that a plan to
sell the 432-acre Marin County site stalled in the Senate Committee
on Public Safety. Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced, wrote SB 28 with the aim of unlocking what he figures could be
up to $2 billion of equity by selling the waterfront property.
"'Year after year, this committee continues to shelve
out-of-the-box solutions as California's budget deficit continues its devastating downward
spiral,' Denham said after the hearing."
The AP reports: "California has banned use of a voting machine produced by a Texas
company, saying it contains serious software flaws.
"Secretary of State Debra Bowen announced Tuesday that she had withdrawn approval
for Premier Election Solutions' Global Election Management System version 1.18.19.
"She said the machine contains a software error that
can delete a first batch of optically scanned ballots
without alerting election officials. The flaw caused
197 ballots to be deleted from initial results in Humboldt
County last November."
And apparently, someone has made an entire YouTube
channel out of public comments from everyone's favorite local government meetings, the meetings
of the Santa Cruz City Council. You can check out the latest installment here.
We wish it was all part of an April Fool's joke.
