Wednesday was a day of rumors, hype and tension in
the Capitol, with Brown considering any number of options
to put his budget before California voters. Today may
be even worse. But one thing is certain: Brown's task just got tougher: The latest PPIC poll shows that public support for
a budget special election is slipping, not to mention voters' appetite for tax extensions.
From Capitol Weekly's John Howard: "Among Democrats, support has dipped from 73 percent two
months ago to 64 percent now. Republican support, meanwhile, dropped
from 55
percent to 34 percent. The decline in Republican support is all
but certain to
bolster opposition to Brown among GOP lawmakers…"
"Support has also declined since January for the package
that voters would be considering —a five-year extension of temporary increases
in income and sales taxes and the vehicle license fee
to avoid additional
budget cuts."
"Today, less than half (46 percent all adults and likely voters) favor the
governor’s proposal, a decline of 7 points among all adults and 8 points among
likely voters."
A detailed announcement of the poll is
available here. The full survey can be
downloaded here.
The pressure mounts and the clock continues to tick on negotiations amid deadlines to get measures on
the ballot, notes the LAT's Shane Goldmacher. "Budget negotiations took on a frantic pace Wednesday,
as Gov. Jerry Brown continued to meet with legislators
in hopes of striking an agreement.
“Time is running out, definitely,” Brown said. Increasingly, the governor is considering alternatives
to
seeking GOP support for a June ballot measure to renew
temporary taxes. Thus
far, no Republicans have agreed to his plan. His other
choices include either a
November ballot measure or using a legally questionable
simple legislative
majority to place a tax measure on the ballot."
"California Labor Federation chief Art Pulaski huddled
in
the governor’s office to talk strategy with administration staff
Wednesday. As
he walked out of the Capitol, Pulaski said he was skeptical
of pursuing a fall
ballot measure, which would require gathering hundreds
of thousands of voter
signatures to qualify an initiative."
If the GOP blocks a public vote on the state budget,
what happens next? Inquiring minds -- including the Bee's Dan Morain's -- want to know.
"Two of the top political strategists in the state
–
former Sen. Jim Brulte, a Republican, and Democratic
strategist Garry South – have prepared an analysis showing
Republicans are in danger of losing more legislative
and congressional seats in
2012."
"Not six months ago, California Republicans were trounced
at the polls, losing every statewide office and managing
to drop yet another
seat in the Assembly."
Bad as it is, it could get worse, South and Brulte
say.
There are several reasons why: rapidly growing numbers of Asian and Latino
voters reject their message. Redistricting could further
isolate Republicans. A
new open primary system will add to electoral uncertainty.
Importantly, the GOP is showing an inability to raise money
from California donors.
Now, we come to the other deficit, the one roiling California's Unemployment Insurance
Fund. Capitol Weekly's Greg Lucas takes a look.
"It’s been called California’s other budget deficit. And it
certainly hasn’t had near the attention of the state’s $25.4 billion budget gap
between revenue and spending commitments.
But it’s almost as dire."
California’s employer-paid Unemployment Insurance Fund is insolvent.
"The fund had a deficit of $10.3 billion in 2010, a deficit that is growing to
what the state projects will be a $13.4 billion hole this year. Without increasing the amount of money businesses pay
into the
fund or reducing thebenefits paid to out-of-work former employees – or some
combination of the two - the fund will stay insolvent."
“For the foreseeable future,” says the Legislative Analyst in an October 2010
report."
Controversy swirls over the new independent redistricting
commission, with the panel fending off suggestions that it is
hopelessly skewed toward Democrats. Jim Miller in the Press-Enterprise has the story.
"One of the five Republicans on the Citizens Redistricting
Commission on Wednesday rejected suggestions by some
GOP leaders that the panel
is hopelessly skewed toward Democrats. In an article Tuesday, Republican redistricting expert Tony
Quinn said the commission "has descended into a cesspool
of corruption,
and the promise of fair new districts has been compromised
by brutal partisan
politics instigated by the commission itself."
"The same day, state GOP chairman Tom Del Beccaro issued
a statement that the panel's
decision to hire a Berkeley-based firm to provide technical assistance to the
commission "may very well undermine the trust of voters
in this entire
process."
"Wednesday, redistricting commissioner Jodie Filkins
Webber, a Norco attorney and registered Republican,
said she is "troubled
by the...perception" of Quinn and others, but she said
the concerns are
overblown."
And from our "And You Thought Your Building Inspector Was Tough" file, we turn to Canada to learn about an inspector,
a vibrator and the law.
"Sentencing has been delayed for a former Edmonton
building inspector found guilty of interfering with
a woman's vibrator during a
home inspection."
"Last October, Robert Shostak was convicted of unlawfully
being in a dwelling house, but the 55-year-old married father will have to wait
until April 5 to learn his sentence."
"During the trial, the woman, who cannot be named under
a
publication ban, said she went into her bedroom because
she felt Shostak, a
building safety inspector, had been there too long.
She discovered him coming
out of the master bedroom closet and found her vibrator
had been turned on."
"Judge Terry Clackson
ruled Shostak initially had the right to be in the
woman's northeast Edmonton
home on Dec. 24, 2007, but he lost that right once he handled her vibrator."
Wonder if she passed inspection....
