FLASHREPORT

     Well, I guess I played a role in an Orange County politician resigning from office today.   Another dubious distinction for my resume.

     Readers know I have been reporting here about the apparent jihad that is ongoing by the Secretary of State, Debra Bowen, and the Los Angeles District Attorney, to nail people involved in politics who are registered to vote at one address, but apparently live most of the time at another.   Mark Jacoby, a petition gatherer, was charged with a felony along these lines late last year and pled to a misdemeanor a couple weeks ago.   I was surprised by the plea, I thought he might have gotten off if he fought the charges.   But after his plea, the same authorities nailed liberal Latino activist Nativo Lopez with the same type of wrap, but with FOUR felony counts.   He won't enter a plea until next week, and is out on $55,000 bail.   Ouch!

     So on the 28th, when I read Teri Sforza's story appearing in the Orange County Register on the 26th, (I was a little behind on my reading) about Metropolitan Water District of Southern California board member Ergun Bakall, who repsents an Orange County-based district, needing a district plane to fly him from his "retirement home" in Riverside County to somewhere in Temecula for a meeting, I shot a short email off to Teri musing that the situation was really potentially much more serious than previously thought, given the Nativo Lopez prosecution, and that Teri should check out my post on the subject on Flash Report.   She did, and then she apparently did what good reporters are supposed to do (asked some really good questions!) and the result is that Bakall ended up resigning today.  See the story on today's Flash Report news round-up.

     I'm especially pleased that this was all about a "OC Watchdog" program at the Register that monitors abuse of tax dollars.   Good for them!  Good for us.

Bass mentioned the recall effort being mounted against Assemblyman Anthony Adams by concerned citizens, and went on to say, "I don't know why we allow that kind of terrorism to exist."

Coupal (pictured) condemned these statements as outrageous -- saying, "For the State of California's Speaker of the Assembly to call the people of California 'terrorists' is despicable.  For the highest-ranking member of the California State Assembly to engage in such name-calling is not only a disgrace, but to use a loaded term that has a deeply sensitive meaning to so many people, well, it is completely inappropriate. She owes the people of California an apology.

We here at the FlashReport would be pleased to post up an apology from the Speaker.  You can just email us to it here.

The big question looming out there for vendors and people who receive money from the state, and for the record way too many people do, is who will accept IOU's?

Banks haven't made up there minds. They may be waiting to see what the interest rate will be. Golden State Credit Union will take the warrants; they after all cater to government employees.

I have co-authored AB 1506 that would allow the recipients of IOUs from the state to use the warrants as payment for state services. 

Today, I attended a press conference organized by Assembly Bill 1506 Author Assemblyman Joel Anderson.

If IOU's are going to be issued by the state, the state should take them as payments. The DMV should take them, California State universities should take them, the Board of Equalization should take them etc...

If California wants banks to take them, shouldn't California government do the same?

Think of the all the interest California will save and besides they are safe bet, right?

You would think that the last thing the California Legislature would want to do is add yet one more burdensome layer of taxes on small businesses - especially at a time when we ought  to pass measures to stimulate the economy.  But that's not the mindset of the Democrat  leaders in the Legislature.

Instead, the cornerstone of their current Budget Proposal is a 3 percent withholding tax on Independent Contractors. 

This illogical proposal would slow economic recovery and growth in California, and has the potential to put more people out of work. As it is, the state is already approaching a 12% unemployment rate.

Furthermore, this measure could actually force small business owners to shut their doors, or at the very least stretch other small businesses to the limit, as they will be compelled to provide an up-front loan to the state even if they have no tax liability. 

When are the Democrats going to learn that small business is the fuel that drives California's economy?

June's local school tax elections went 3 for 4. Yesterday La Canada Unified approved a parcel tax with over 70% of the Vote. They join Palos Verdes Peninsula and South Pasadena Unified in passing parcel taxes. Yours truly went 4 for 4 when Rowland Unified's attempt to pass a parcel tax got a little over 51% of the vote. Parcel taxes need a two-thirds vote to pass.

It seems that these votes were referendums on their local school districts. Most local taxes are viewed through that lens. Each of these communities had rejected 1A on May 19th. That was a referendum on the state.

I have to admit that I was pretty impressed when I got off of the phone with Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner last Sunday night.  When my phone rang, and Poizner was on the other end, I expected to have a chat about his campaign for the GOP Gubernatorial nomination.  But actually, he was calling me, in his capacity as Insurance Commissioner, to let me know about a bold new policy that he would be announcing on Monday, launching a funding probe from the Department of Insurance targeting investments made by insurance companies in Iran.

"Jon, using my authority as Insurance Commissioner, I will be announcing tomorrow a terror   funding probe targeting direct and indirect investments by insurers in Iran."

As I am sure that many FR readers were when we ran the news accounts of this new initiative by Poizner on the FlashReport, I was taken aback by the fact that I didn’t even know that a state Insurance Commissioner could engage in this way – and so I was really caught off guard.  But as Poizner (who is pictured at a press conference last Monday announcing his anti-terror funding probe) laid out some of the specifics of his plan, it was clear that this was not only a well thought out strategy on his part – but that the idea was bold, and had far reaching implications.

I have to applaud Poizner’s “out of the box” thinking on this topic.  As I say from time to time, I am not really a fan of the actual position of Insurance Commissioner, having voted against the ballot proposition which created it.  That said, I am a fan of this idea, and think that Poizner’s thinking of it and putting it into effect demonstrates a pretty broad understanding of the powers of his office.  Poizner is the first insurance industry regulator in the country to initiate a program like this, but Poizner told me that he hopes that all of the other states follow suit.

I recall the first time I sat down with Steve Poizner, some years ago now, and that at the time he shared his experience of being at the White House, assigned to the office of the National Security Council, when the terrorist attacks of 9-11 took place.  Apparently his time spent with the NSC during that critical time in American history gives Poizner a perspective that most do not have, and experience that he is bringing to bear as Insurance Commissioner.

The job of California Governor is a complex one, that will involve an occupant who has the maturity and sophistication to identify and tackle a myriad of issues – some obvious and some not so much so.   This kind of policy move by Poizner demonstrates that he possesses the kind of ability required in the office.  This is good, because California government has a lot of problems right now – big problems – and we need candidates who, if elected, can play a key role in tackling them.

There is still nearly a year before the primary, where Poizner will face off against at least Meg Whitman and Tom Campbell.  I have always thought that one distinct advantage that Poizner brought to contest was the fact that he currently holds statewide elective office – but I wondered whether the actions taken by Poizner in a regulatory office, Insurance Commissioner, could translate to positive impression on voters – especially primary voters. 

In conclusion, there is one big loser because of Poizner’s new policy directive – especially if it catches on nationally – and that is the government in Iran.  Their support for terrorism and terrorists is totally unacceptable.  And to the extent that Poizner’s proposal has the effect of cutting of any funds invested in that country, Poizner and the people of California who elected him will be able to say they played a critical role in the fight for global freedom and liberty.

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As we get closer to midnight rumors are starting up that the solidarity and unity of purpose of Senate Republicans is starting to fray. I've checked into this fairly recently with a source and was assured that GOP Senators were still standing together against any piecemeal cuts that would undercut pressure for a comprehensive solution to take us to June 30 of next year.

We commend Senate Republicans for their resolve, and urge them to reject the false notion that voting for a $3 billion cut bill tonight will help anything. The three biggest results of doing that would be damage to our negotiating position, kicking the can to the pleasure of the unions, and avoiding needed cuts through July and into August.

By standing firm, Senate Republicans will ultimately be able to claim a key role in an ultimate $24 billion solution, and will have protected taxpayers!

Keeping true to his word, Governor Schwarzenegger just vetoed the majority-vote tax bill package sent to him by legislative Democrats. Clearly the Governator stands ready to terminate any bills that fall short of a comprensivr $24 billion fix. We commend and encourage the Governor to hold the line...