"After taking a major role in defeating Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's ballot initiatives last year, California nurses Monday proposed one that would
strictly limit spending on political campaigns," reports Dan Morain for the Times.
"The measure would
ban corporate donations to candidates and to ballot-measure fights, and
create a system of public financing for those running for office. Candidates who rejected the financing could accept only relatively small contributions -- $500 for legislative races, $1,000 for statewide offices."
"To pay for the system, the nurses plan to propose
raising the state's bank and corporate tax rate or adding a new tax on oil pumped from California wells."
"'You can't care for people in a corrupt political system,' [CNA President
Rose Ann] DeMoro said, adding that people go into nursing to help others."
Further, a
showdown is emerging over whether projects should be selected for funding by state agencies or through the legislative process.
Capitol Weekly's Shane Goldmacher says local officials, Democrats and Republicans all have concerns over the governor's transportation bond, which would consolidate power of the purse strings in the governor's office. "The issue of how transportation projects are prioritized, and which ones would receive new bond money, will be among the most contentious debates over the transportation bond.
That debate officials begins today, when the Senate Transportation Committee begins informational hearings about the bonds," he writes.
The LA Times' Jordan Rau says Democrats have concerns about
other parts of the governor's bond proposal as well over this same issue of spending control. "Under the governor's plan, enormous multibillion-dollar ventures -- such as deciding how to move goods more quickly through California's ports and setting fees on water users -- would be determined by state agencies -- without being included in the annual budget approved by the Legislature."
"
After his special election defeats, Schwarzenegger pledged to work with legislators instead of trying to go around them. 'It just seems to be a long step backward, creating not only new bureaucracies but unprecedented central government support,' said Senate President Pro Tem
Don Perata (D-Oakland). 'I don't think it flies.'"
Well, something seems to be flying ... directly into the fan.
The governor visited Riverside yesterday to
tout his infrastructure plan and its effect on the area's traffic. "The governor's bond proposals, introduced earlier this month, would generate about $887 million in new transportation funding for the region. But the Inland area's overall transportation needs total at least $15 billion, officials say."
Local officials, however, said the plan doesn't go far enough to meet the region's growing needs. "'We're going to be buried in traffic whether we do something or not," Riverside County Supervisor
Marion Ashley said after the governor spoke. '
We are going to be building roads like no tomorrow until further notice.'"
As hearings begin on the governor's plan, the Merc News' Aaron Davis and Kate Folmar point out the
possible speed bumps facing the plan.
"It's hard to imagine planning for 10 million new people in Californian and not having a component for housing and affordable housing,' said Assemblyman
John Laird, a Santa Cruz Democrat who will sit on the Assembly-Senate committee charged with reaching compromises on the package."
"
Money for hospital upgrades and making sure there is a
funding stream to pay off the bonds also top Democrats' lists. The bonds would be repaid over a period of years from the state's general fund -- leading to concerns that, without new revenue, debt service could cut into funding for schools, social services and other programs."
"GOP lawmakers say they want to
examine some provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act, which requires developers to conduct environmental-impact reports before they are allowed to build projects."
Our
daily UC executive pay debacle story focuses today on former UC Berkeley chancellor
Robert Berdahl, who has decided not to return to teaching, but will pocket the $350,000 salary he earned while he was "on leave."
"
UC officials said he won't have to pay back the $355,000 he earned on leave because UC made an 'exception to policy,'" report the Chronicle's Todd Wallack and Tanya Schevitz.
From our
Careful What You Wish For Files Congressman
John Doolittle invited federal officials to investigate him if they believe he participated in illegal activity with lobbyist
Jack Abramoff.
Andy Furillo reports for the Bee "In a taped interview from last week played Monday on radio station KFBK (1530 AM), Doolittle also said the congressional response to the Abramoff case is mostly a matter of "appearance," and that calls for ethics reform in Washington have nothing to do with the lobbyist's admitted influence-peddling."
Finally today, why do we have to go to a
British tabloid to find out all the important news -- like the fact that the governor
bought his daughter a hamster over the weekend? "The happy youngster gladly posed for paparazzi as she left the pet store, clutching onto her cuddly pal."
The tab doesn't reveal the hamster's name, and we haven't had a contest here at the Roundup for quite some time. So, in the spirit of, well, whatever, we proudly announce the Roundup's First Annual
Name The Governor's Hamster Contest. Winners will receive, well, whatever. Send those entries to
tips@capitolbasement.com.
