"The failure of lawmakers and the governor thus far
to wipe out any of the state's projected nearly $42-billion deficit leaves California only weeks from running
out of the cash needed to pay all of its bills. On
Tuesday, State Controller John Chiang sent a letter to government agencies advising them
of whom the state won't pay if coffers run dry," reports Evan Halper in the Times.
"Californians may not be so troubled by who is on the
top of the list to get IOUs: state lawmakers, who haven't been able to come up with a budget solution that
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would sign.
"Legislators aren't the only ones who would be stiffed. Any Californians
expecting a tax refund from the state would be out
of luck until the cash crisis is resolved. Some payments
to doctors would also be put on hold, as would some
grants to students.
"Chiang's office said the state may start issuing the IOUs
as soon as Feb. 1."
Chiang is still in a Texas hospital, awaiting test
results from his chest pains.
But, whether or not they get that pay immediately,
it'll be fatter checks for lawmakers, reports Capitol Weekly. "While 240,000 state employees are facing possible job cuts and mandatory
work furloughs, Capitol lawmakers have received a nice
little raise.
"The increased compensation for California’s 120 legislators comes in the form of $3 more per day for living expenses that each lawmaker
receives tax-free. Lawmakers now receive $173 in so-called per diem compensation – money that is not subject to state or federal income
taxes."
...cause, you know, that cost of housing in Sacramento
is just skyrocketing...
"The boost comes at the same time that state employees
face cuts. The governor issued an executive order earlier
forcing unpaid furloughs of two days per month to cut
costs. The move followed orders to lay off thousands
of state employees."
"California’s counties and cities, at ground zero of the state’s economic woes, are tightening their belts sooner and tighter than
state officials in Sacramento, who have been grappling unsuccessfully for months
with a $40 billion-dollar budget shortage over 18 months," reports CW's John Howard.
"Unlike the state, which derives most of its money from
income taxes, local governments rely largely on sales
and property taxes.
"'The counties are in the more vulnerable position because
they are more dependent on state aid,' said Michael Coleman, a fiscal policy consultant to
the League of California Cities.
"Over the years, funding for state-ordered programs at the local level have been cut in
Sacramento but the money for those same programs has
been steadily choked off. The state’s tight fist, coupled with the economic downturn, is
giving local governments a double whammy."
Dan Walters writes that maybe something good will come out of the hangover known
as 2008.
Speaking of bad hangovers, "[f]aced with higher state taxes last Oct. 1 and a new labeling law set to take effect Thursday,
Mike's Hard Lemonade, Smirnoff Ice and other big players
in the flavored malt beverage industry simply changed their recipes to avoid the new legal
requirements," reports Dan Smith in the Bee.
"The results: Taxes on the drinks derided as "alcopops" and marketed as starter drinks for young people will
remain the same as beer – about 16 times less than the tax on distilled spirits. And
a new law supporters thought would help clearly identify
the drinks as alcoholic will not apply to the reformulated
beverages."
"The industry says the new formulas fall outside the
definition laid out by the tax board and the labeling
legislation, which applied to drinks that derive 0.5 percent or more of their alcohol content from flavorings
containing distilled spirits.
"The exact method is complicated – and a proprietary trade secret – but industry representatives say the reformulated
drinks derive their alcohol less from flavorings and
more from the brewing process.
"'Our technical team made sure that our product looks
and tastes the same as the other formulation,' said Zsoka McDonald, a spokeswoman for Diageo PLC, makers of Smirnoff
and one of the biggest industry players. 'Consumers can't notice a difference.'"
"Wildfire spending in California continued its upward climb this year, driven by one of the worst fire seasons in the state's history," writes the LAT's Bettina Boxall.
"Almost a quarter of all the wild land that burned across
the country in 2008 was in California -- roughly 1.4 million acres.
"The fires, fought at a huge cost to taxpayers, failed
to translate into any meaningful reforms at the state
or federal level despite efforts in Sacramento and
Washington.
"Lawmakers introduced a number of measures dealing with
land use, fire prevention and protection. But the proposals
stalled, or in the case of one major state bill, were
vetoed.
"In fiscal 2008, half of the $1.4 billion that the U.S. Forest Service spent nationally
on wildfire suppression was spent in California alone.
State fire expenditures topped $1 billion."
Meanwhile, "California officials are counting on Washington to
inject billions of dollars in transportation money
to help revive the state economy. But a public advocacy
group said the state's wish list of projects would undermine efforts to
repair and modernize the state's crumbling infrastructure and reduce U.S. dependence
on oil," reports Patrick McGreevy in the Times.
"The California Public Interest Research Group reports
that the state plans to spend 31% of road money on creating new capacity instead of
addressing long-deferred maintenance and repair projects. By contrast,
the group said, Massachusetts would commit 100% of its road funds to repairs.
"'We can't afford to waste precious resources on new highways
at the expense of ready-to-go projects to repair and maintain existing roads and
bridges and expand public transportation,' said spokeswoman Erin Steva.
"Caltrans spokesman Benjamin DeLanty defended the list, saying that it was an initial response
to a request from members of Congress for possible
projects and may change as federal legislation and
state needs evolve."
"State Attorney General Jerry Brown is challenging the Bush administration's attempt to narrow scientific review of development
that might hurt endangered species , joining environmental groups that have sued in San
Francisco over the government's hotly disputed regulatory changes," reports the Chron's Bob Egelko.
"'The Bush administration is seeking to gut the Endangered
Species Act on its way out the door,' Brown said in a statement Tuesday after filing suit
a day earlier in U.S. District Court.
"Major environmental organizations went to court two
weeks ago to contest the regulations, which took effect
Dec. 16. Although the suits claim the regulations violate
the Endangered Species Act and other environmental
laws, none of the plaintiffs has asked for an order
halting enforcement of the new rules before President-elect Barack Obama takes office Jan. 20."
"Six months after the state ordered the use of only
hands-free devices while talking on the phone, law enforcement
officials and others say many motorists appear to be ignoring the edict," writes the U-T's Steve Schmidt.
"The California Highway Patrol has cited about 42,000 drivers – 1,000 of them in San Diego County – for failing to use wired or wireless headsets during
behind-the-wheel chats. Drivers are fined at least $97.
"'There's an awful lot of people still doing it,' local CHP spokesman Brad Baehr said.
"The CHP released the figures as the agency prepares
to accelerate its crackdown.
"Starting tomorrow, all Californians will be banned
from sending text messages while driving. In July,
the state banned drivers 18 and younger from using any type of cell phone or texting
device, hands-free or not."
Thus, starting with Friday's edition, remember to print out your Roundup
and tape it to your steering wheel.
We wouldn't want you breaking the law.
