If you brought your toothbrush and your Doris Allen
fuzzy slippers to
work yesterday, you left the Assembly disappointed
at 10:45 p.m., as threats of a lockdown didn't materialize.
"Democrats in the state Assembly on Tuesday countered
the plan by
Republican lawmakers for deep cuts to help bridge California's gaping
budget hole, putting up for a floor vote a new $19 billion plan through
mid-2010 that would adopt Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's tax ideas,"
writes the Chron's Matthew Yi.
"But the Democrats' latest plan failed to garner the required
two-thirds majority support as partisan bickering over
tax increases
continued and Republicans refused to approve taxes.
"The moves came one day after Republicans, who had come
under fire for
not producing a budget plan of their own, unveiled
a $22 billion
proposal that would avoid raising taxes. Their plan
would cut deeply
into education spending and dip into voter-approved funds set aside for
mental health services and children's health care.
"All the plans are intended to help bridge an estimated
$40 billion budget shortfall in the next 18 months.
"Late Tuesday, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Baldwin Vista (Los
Angeles County) ordered lawmakers to remain in the chambers until
the
Republican proposal could be written in bill form,
with hopes to vote
on it. But the night ended without a vote because the
bill wasn't
ready, Bass said. She plans to bring the GOP proposal
to the Assembly
floor for a vote today."
The Bee's Jim Sanders counts the votes. "The measure targeting cuts
died on an initial vote, 48-27, and the proposal to raise taxes failed
46-27.
"No Democrat rejected the tax hikes, but five abstained
from voting:
Alyson Huber of El Dorado Hills, Joan Buchanan of Alamo,
Manuel Perez
of Coachella, Marty Block of San Diego and Charles
Calderon of Whittier.
"Only one Democrat, Mariko Yamada of Davis, voted against
the bill
proposing multibillion-dollar budget cuts, saying she could not support
ending state subsidies for landowners who agree to
limit use of their
acreage for agricultural, scenic or open-space purposes.
"'The agricultural community is also a vulnerable community,' Yamada said of her opposition.
"Democrats Huber and Calderon also abstained from voting
on the budget cuts.
"After it became clear the proposals would not pass,
Democrats removed
their votes so they would not appear on the official
record."
"Road, levee, school and housing construction projects throughout
California are on the verge of being halted or delayed , as state
officials prepare to shut off their financing in the
most drastic
fallout yet from California's cash crisis," reports Jordan Rau and Evan
Halper in the Times.
"Officials plan to meet today to freeze financing on
these projects and
about 2,000 others, including park improvements, environmental
restoration and repairs to state prisons.
"Many of the projects were authorized by voters in 2006 and championed
by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in his reelection campaign
that year.
"All rely on funds that are nearly depleted because
the state has been
unable to sell the routine bonds it uses to keep cash
flowing. Last
month, the state failed to sell two-thirds of bonds worth $500 million,
according to state Treasurer Bill Lockyer.
"Lockyer told legislators last week that halting public-works projects
would have a ripple effect through California's economy, costing
private companies $12.5 billion and eliminating 200,000 jobs.
"The cost of shutting down a project in midstream is
enormous, said Jim
Earp, executive director of the California Alliance
for Jobs, a
construction industry-backed nonprofit group that advocates for
public-works spending.
"'It gives the contractor cause to file suit for damages,' he said. 'It
is incredibly disruptive. It can cause major safety
problems. We are
going to be putting thousands of people out of work.'"
Dan Walters writes that legislators are making too much of the impact of their
decisions , which is prolonging the crisis.
"The Capitol's crisis mentality isn't shared by the public at large,
which just wants its politicians to deal with the problem
fairly,
knowing and accepting, albeit reluctantly, that closing
the deficit
will take some unwanted spending cuts and new taxes.
"Politicians should relax, park their needy ids and
accept that what
they do on the budget – raising taxes, cutting spending or some
combination thereof – may be important to them and the myriad interest
groups that have their ear, but in terms of the larger
economy is
fairly insignificant.
"Indeed, a stalemate probably has more negative effect
by reducing
consumer, lender, investor and voter confidence, than
anything they
would do to close the deficit. Which means they should
suck it up,
devise a sensible mélange of taxes and spending cuts, and, as Larry the
Cable Guy might say, get 'er done."
"California officials launched a sweeping green initiative
on Tuesday to inform consumers exactly how hundreds of thousands
of products sold
in the state are manufactured and transported and how
safe their
ingredients are," reports the LAT's Margot Roosevelt.
"The plan, which would require every product to reveal
its
"environmental footprint," envisions the most comprehensive regulations
ever adopted for consumer goods.
"'These recommendations usher in a new era of how we
look at household
products -- from our children's toys to the plastic we use to make
shampoo bottles, to the varnish on our wood furniture,' said Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"Until now, most of the state's regulation of toxic chemicals, which
can cause cancer, birth defects and neurological damage,
has been
focused on how to control exposure to factory workers
and how to clean
up hazardous waste."
Officials in Orange County have given a "F" to the letter-grade system for rating restaurants' cleanliness.
"The Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday rejected
health
department and grand jury recommendations that restaurant
inspection
results be made more consumer-friendly, instead opting to make minor
changes to the signs already on display.Health department
officials had recommended that restaurants display
color-coded placards
indicating how they scored on their last inspection.
An Orange County
Grand Jury, which in May found that the public is "almost universally
unaware" of the county's current system for reporting violations,
recommended adopting an A-B-C rating system like the one used in Los
Angeles."
That should come as no surprise. OC officials are constantly
trying not to be like LA -- not allowing things like Democrats, or permitting
their sports teams to choke in the playoffs...
Speaking of LA, it looks like Xavier Becerra will not be the U.S. Trade Rep after
all. "Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., said Tuesday he will stay in the
House and pass on becoming U.S. trade representative
in Barack Obama's
administration.
"Becerra emerged as the leading candidate for the
post and interviewed with Obama earlier this month.
In a telephone
interview with The Associated Press, he said he decided
he wanted to
stay in the House to work on various issues, including
immigration
reform and universal health care.
"He said he'd informed the Obama team of his decision.
"Becerra
said he felt elated when first approached about the
job, but that
ultimately "I wasn't sure if at the end I only wanted to be focused on
trade."
That sound you hear is Gil Cedillo tearing his hair out...
And from our Politicians Disease Files, Matier and Ross report, "A funny thing happened to Oakland politicians' idea of cutting their
pay by the same 5 percent they ordered for other city workers - it
never happened.
"'Inquiries have been made, but no official action has
ever been taken,' said acting Oakland City Administrator Dan Lindheim, who like most other city workers is taking 13 days off without pay to help resolve Oakland's $42 million budget deficit.
"Under the plan initiated in October, city offices would
be closed
one day a month and workers not paid - which amounts to a 5 percent
salary cut.
"In November, the City Council recommended cutting the
salaries of
elected officials by an equal amount. The eight council
members were to
be first - agreeing to a $3,250 cut in their $65,000-a-year pay.
"No one down in payroll, however, has made the move
to implement the cuts.
"'That doesn't surprise me in the least,' said City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente, saying
it wouldn't be the first time the council has asked for something
from
city staff, only to have the request drift off into
limbo."
Ouch.
And finally, from our Florida Files, AP reports, "According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office,
two men entered a man's home early Sunday and demanded his eggbeater.
One suspect was holding a pistol while the other brandished
a knife to
the resident's neck.
"Police caught the
men outside the home and they are being held in Orient
Road Jail. One
suspect also faces a charge of aggravated assault.
"Police found the eggbeater in the man's left pocket."
The worst part about the arrest is that the two lost
their scavenger hunt!
