For those lovers of liberty and freedom in Long Beach, I have some bad news for you. This coming Tuesday, your city council is looking to pass a city-wide plastic grocery bag ban and tax ordinance that is identical to the one passed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors last November. The action taken by the Los Angeles County Supervisors (on a split vote) was not only poor public policy, but also legally questionable. The last thing that cities like Long Beach should be doing is emulating the bad behavior of their County Supervisors. Ultimately, the County’s bag ban was approved by the three Democrats who hold the majority, and for whom creating yet another government mandate, and making life more expensive for Californians, is not a big deal.

First and foremost — why is a plastic bag ban for Long Beach poor public policy? I will start with the “Big Brother” issue, because it is the most egregious. Telling residents and business owners what bags they can and cannot use, and how much they will be charged (or how much they will charge) for a bag is… Read More

Asm. Republicans Discuss Budget Proposal from CA Assembly GOP on Vimeo.… Read More

The following exclusive column was just sent our way…

Assembly Republicans Propose ‘Roadmap to a No Tax Increase Budget’ By Assembly Republican Leader Connie Conway

Today, I sent a letter [Download Letter: Budget Letter to Speaker 051211 FINAL0001] to Speaker Pérez on behalf of Assembly Republicans, laying out what we are calling our “Roadmap to a No Tax Increase Budget.”

We have heard a constant drumbeat from Sacramento liberals that sky will fall unless the voters agree to a $55 billion tax increase. This is a myth. In fact, they want you to pay a massive tax hike so they can grow government by 31 percent. This shows how out of touch liberals really are with working families.

When I’m in the grocery store or at community events, my constituents tell me that they want their hard-earned tax dollars to go to the essentials, such as good local schools for their kids and ensuring police… Read More

George Skelton is the dean of the Capitol Press Corps — the left-of-center columnist for the Los Angeles Times started writing about the politics of the Golden State well before my parents even thought about conceiving my older brother, and I’m in my forties. To say that I often disagree with George would be an understatement — but that’s okay, he’ll tell you that it is mutual. Still, I have enjoyed a positive relationship with him going back to my rabble-rousing days back in the late 80’s and early 90’s as a conservative youth activist. As both an observer and a participant in the California political scene, I always read George’s columns — which are always well written, and fit well with the ideological “leftness” of his employer.

George’s column today is focused on state budget politics, and is mostly devoted to a political and policy play by Senate President Darrell Steinberg to put pressure on Republicans to agree to re-hiking all of the income, sales, and car taxes which end on June… Read More

Remember back in the early 2000’s when then-President George W. Bush proposed reforming Social Security with an option to set up “private accounts”? In spite of Republican control at the time of the White House, the House and the Senate, the proposal failed to garner the requisite 60 votes in the Senate and therefore did not become law. Democrats used this to some success in the next election by relentlessly pounding Republicans for trying to “end Social Security”.

It is now 10 years later and no reforms of any significance of any of the entitlement programs have been enacted. Like 10 years ago, Republicans are proposing another reform. But, unlike 10 years ago, the country’s financial situation is far more dire, with record deficits and record debt and all of the entitlement programs facing collapse. However, the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) political playbook remains unchanged. They are excoriating Republicans around the country for “voting to end Medicare” by supporting the Paul Ryan budget. Never mind that Medicare taxes currently only cover about half the cost of the program today. Never… Read More

I brought cameras behind the scenes before I went into the House Armed Services Full Committee Markup of the NDAA for FY 2012. You can watch here:

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO

… Read More

A key Senate tax committee today voted 9-0 to advance legislation I am sponsoring to empower California’s tax agencies to better assist struggling taxpayers.

The bill will help California’s job creators who are survivors of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression and give tax agencies the needed flexibility to deal fairly with taxpayers who are victims of California’s economy.

More specifically, Senate Bill 228 (Wyland) would permit the Board of Equalization, Franchise Tax Board and State Controller to “withdraw” a lien when a taxpayer pays an outstanding liability in full—removing the lien from the taxpayer’s credit record.

Under current law, when a taxpayer falls behind on payments, California’s tax agencies may place a lien on that taxpayer’s personal property.

Once a taxpayer pays the outstanding liability in full, California tax agencies may “release” the lien. However, the release does not remove the lien from a taxpayer’s credit record,… Read More

There are a lot of publications worth reading — but none is as enlightening, and as filled with works of gravitas as the Claremont Review of Books. The CRB, which is published by the Claremont Institute, is a “must read” for those serious about public policy in America, and in California. Don’t take my word for it — today we feature a staggeringly insightful article, The Tao of Jerry Brown, from Claremont scholar William Voegeli that appears in the latest addition of CRB (reprinted with permission, of course). My first thought when I heard the news about Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver separating was to make light of it — Schwarzenegger, of course, would make jokes at the most awkward of times while Governor. But then, after thinking about it, I realized that there is nothing funny about a couple having marital problems. The entire Schwarzenegger family is in my prayers. Last week our friends over at Randle Communications rolled out the announcement that longtime Sacramento … Read More