Feb. 1, 2010 By JOHN SEILER As negotiations get under way on the California State Budget – especially its $20 billion deficit – numerous remedies are being advanced, including tax increases. One old idea is to bring the car tax, also called the vehicle license fee, back to 2 percent of the...
January, 2010Did car tax drive deficit?Saturday, January 30th, 2010Why Sen. Lou Correa voted against SB 810Friday, January 29th, 2010 Jan. 29, 2010 by KATY GRIMES Yesterday the state Senate passed SB 810, the single payer health care bill sponsored by Senator Mark Leno (D, San Francisco) by a 22-14 vote. Today I spoke with Senator Lou Correa (D, Santa Ana), the only Democrat to vote against the bill. At first, Correa'... The clash over health careThursday, January 28th, 2010Jan. 28, 2010 By KATY GRIMES On a vote of 22 to 14, the California State Senate today approved Senate Bill 810, which creates a government-run health care system, also known as single-payer health care. Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to create a single-payer health ... State may sue CCPOA over owed fundsTuesday, January 26th, 2010Jan. 26, 2010 By STEVEN GREENHUT The Schwarzenegger administration has threatened legal action against the California Correctional Peace Officers' Association -- the prison guards' union -- if its officials continue to refuse to pay the millions of dollars the union owes the state to reimburse... Out-of-state prison costs soarTuesday, January 26th, 2010Jan. 26, 2010 By KATY GRIMES The price tag for California’s out-of-state prisoners has jumped in three years from $20 million in late 2006, to $630 million in 2009-10. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) as well as the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) addr... Tilting at pension reformFriday, January 22nd, 2010Jan. 22, 2010 By ANTHONY PIGNATARO What to do about public employee pensions is the thorniest, nastiest, most difficult question facing Sacramento lawmakers today. Few issues cause such disappointment and despair. Yet one group of activists and accountants is plugging away, trying to get a new... Don’t ask about this resolutionWednesday, January 20th, 2010Jan. 20, 2010 By KATY GRIMES With California's massive budget problems, there should be plenty of meaningful, critical state business for the Legislature to focus on. However, the nine-member Assembly Judiciary Committee spent time last week on a resolution calling for the end of the “Don’... Few Heed State Business StudyMonday, January 18th, 2010Jan. 18, 2020 By KATY GRIMES A small business study published September 2009 by the Governor's Office of Small Business Advocate did not get the attention it should have, given the economic black hole facing the state. The detailed study showed that regulations on small businesses in Califo... The Thermostat NannyMonday, January 18th, 2010 Jan. 18, 2010 By JOHN SEILER On Feb. 2, 1977, two weeks after his inauguration, President Jimmy Carter gave a national address wearing a cardigan sweater. It was a winter of record cold across America and the country was suffering through an energy crisis (caused mainly by price controls; the cris... Flat Tax idea revivedFriday, January 15th, 2010Jan. 15, 2010 By JOHN SEILER Challenging times demand innovative answers to problems. This is such a time for the California state budget, which has been chronically out of whack for a decade. The governor’s January budget proposal doesn’t make matters any better. Almost all solutions t... |