From our Careful What You Wish For Fies, "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked lawmakers to blow
up the boxes of
government, and on Wednesday they obliged -- though not exactly as he
envisioned .
A legislative budget committee delayed action on
many of Schwarzenegger's proposals for cutting waste, and instead took
an ax to operations managed by the governor. They voted
to get rid of
entire departments and agencies under his authority."
Oh, it is on now...
"The committee voted to eliminate the Secretary of Education
office, an
appointed position that exists to help the governor
on school issues.
Lawmakers declared that the governor does not need
such an office, as
it overlaps with the California Department of Education,
which is run
independently by the elected state superintendent of
public
instruction.
"When we are talking about cutting real services
to real people . . . this is one of those entities
that does not
provide a direct service," said Senate Budget and Fiscal Review
Committee Chairwoman Denise Moreno Ducheny (D-San Diego). "Now is the
time to acknowledge we don't need to spend the money on it."
GOP committee members agreed, and the recommendation
will now go before the full Senate and Assembly.
The Bee's Kevin Yamamura adds, "A legislative
budget committee voted unanimously Wednesday to eliminate state
agencies altogether, taking dead aim at an administrative layer of
gubernatorial bureaucracy that oversees most state
departments.
The Legislatures
response Wednesday appeared to be a sharp retort directed
at
higher-paid administrative appointees who answer to Schwarzenegger
and
oversee on-the-ground departments that provide direct state services.
"Government should be a pyramid, but it seems to have
become more of a rectangle structure," said Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield, D-Woodland Hills.
"And a lot of times in this kind of budget, we always
end up cutting
people at the bottom. And this is saying, no, we need
to cut people at
the top and get rid of some of the agencies and make
it more of a
pyramid structure."
"
Under the agency plan, the state would dismantle the
following eight offices and reassign only necessary
positions:
• Health and Human Service
• Labor and Workforce Development
• Resources
• Environmental Protection
• Business, Transportation and Housing
• State and Consumer Service
• Office of Planning and Research
Malcolm Maclachlan looks at one area that has not been cut -- legislative salaries.
"Between the end of January and the end
of April, Assembly payroll grew from $66.8
million annually to $69.6 million; total staff
jumped from 1,128 to 1,192. Senate payroll
jumped from $62.5 million to $63.1 million.
Total Senate staff jumped from 926 to 944.
"The highest-paid staffer in the Assembly
is Bass’s chief of staff, Nolice Edwards, who
makes $190,008. She was making $139,920
before Bass became Speaker.
Other top earners in the Assembly
include a trio of Democratic Caucus consultants,
Chris Woods ($186,756), Richard
Simpson and Arnold Sowell ($179,196
each).
"The highest-earning officer in the entire
Legislature remains Waldie’s counterpart,
Senate Rules Committee executive officer
Greg Schmidt, at $205,584. The next three
are a trio of top consultants to Senate Pro Tem
Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento: Craig
Cornett ($183,480), Gene Wong ($172,704)
and Kathryn Dresslar ($166,800)."
Capitol Weekly reports we've officially gone down the rabbit hole.
"Steinberg said that he is “working on
a series of realignment proposals as part
of the state budget” that could potentially
decentralize many state government
functions and turn those responsibilities
over to counties. “We probably can’t flesh
out every detail in the short run,” he said.
“But we can and probably have to have
significant budget decisions that have to
be part of a broader realignment” of government
services.
Steinberg said Tuesday that lawmakers may
present a couple of different clusters of bills to
meet the budget shortfall. And that is likely to
start with deep budget cuts.
“We are going to make the difficult cuts that have to
be made,” he said, before adding.
“And there will no doubt be a remainder”
when that process is finished.
Among the first cuts likely to be made
will be cuts to education programs. The
administration has outlined a total of close
to $6 billion in cuts to K-12 education for
the 2008-09 and 2009-10 budget years.
Many, but not all, of those cuts are
likely to be restored
by federal stimulus
dollars, according to
Jennifer Kuhn, an
education expert in
the legislative analyst’s
office."
George Skelton picks up on the reallignment theme mentioned by Steinberg, and agrees it is time to
decentralize state government.
"There really is a golden opportunity here. And that
is to go all the
way back to 1978 before Proposition 13 passed and dramatically lowered
property taxes. No, I'm not talking about going back to the old tax
rates. Leave the rates alone. But reconstruct the tangled,
unhealthy
relationship between the state and local governments.
"Prop. 13 shifted control over the remaining property tax revenue
to
Sacramento. Capitol politicians rationed it out -- they've been
re-rationing it ever since -- and kicked in about $6 billion in annual
state "bailout" money. The bailout has never really ended. The result
is that roughly 75% of the state's general fund flows to local
governments and schools.
"Power was transferred from school boards, city councils
and county
boards of supervisors to the governor and Legislature.
It's a mishmash
of governance with the state dictating to locally elected
officials and
usually not providing enough money to pay for the mandates.
"Local governments perpetually have their hands out
to Sacramento
because Prop. 13 made it much more difficult for them to raise their
own revenue. Any local tax hike must be approved by
voters -- by a
two-thirds majority vote, strangely, if it's for a specific purpose."
Hey, it just so happens there's a proposal or two out there on this very subject...
While lawmakers espouse the ideals of local control,
they just passed a bill out of the Assembly yesterday, pushed
by labor unions, that would make it harder for cities
to delcare bankruptcy.
"The measure, sparked by last year's bankruptcy filing by the city of
Vallejo, is opposed by local governments as an intrusion
into their
affairs.
"Assembly Bill 155 passed by a vote of 43-16 Wednesday, with no Republican support.
"Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, an Artesia Democrat who proposed AB 155, said it provides reassurance that bankruptcy filings
would be used only as a last resort.
"But
Assemblyman Juan Arambula, D-Fresno, said the state should honor local
control. "I suggest that, instead of dealing with their backyard,
that
we fix our backyard first," he said.
And finally, all children in Pennsylvania with monobrows, beware. "A Pittsburgh-area school board has upheld the expulsion of a
15-year-old middle school student who was found to have an
eyebrow
shaver in her handbag during a random search. The Penn
Hills School
Board on Tuesday voted 8-1 to uphold the expulsion recommended last
month by officials at Linton Middle School.
"As a
result, the 15-year-old teen will remain expelled for the rest of this
year and 45 days next year. She'll be eligible to receive in-home
instruction or other alternatives.
"One school board member cut her finger on the device
at a private meeting Tuesday and required stitches."
