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Jon Fleischman

North Fork Tribal Gaming Compact Deserves Ratification

If you have never heard of the roughly 2,000 member North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians, than I can assure you that you are not a member of the State Legislature. Last year Governor Brown signed a gaming compact with this tribe, which is up for ratification by the legislature in short order.

In March of 2000, voters by nearly a two-thirds margin approved Prop. 1A. In doing so voters passed an initiative which, according to the Attorney General’s summary: “Modifies existing gambling prohibitions to authorize Governor to negotiate compacts with federally recognized Indian tribes, subject to legislative ratification, for operation of slot machines, lottery games, and banking and percentage card games on Indian lands.”

Nearly 60 tribes were immediate beneficiaries of Prop. 1A, and more tribes have benefitted from it since then. Indian casinos proliferate California, from the… Read More

Edward Ring

California’s State/Local Governments Confront $1.0 Trillion in Debt

A study released earlier today by the California Public Policy Center entitled “Calculating California’s Total State and Local Government Debt” has estimated that state and local government debt is somewhere between $848 billion and $1.12 trillion. This is the first attempt we’ve ever seen by anyone to provide an estimate.

Small wonder. If Californians understood that their local city councils, school districts, redevelopment agencies, special districts, county supervisors, and state legislators had managed to put them on the hook for over $80,000 of debt per household, they might vote down the next new taxation or bond measure that appears on the ballot. Imagine how much debt this equates to pertaxpayinghousehold.

Quoting from the study’s summary, here are the categories of government debt confronting Californians:

When, along with the $27.8 billion “Wall of Debt,” long-term debt incurred by California’s state, county, and city governments, along with school districts, redevelopment agencies and specialRead More

BOE Member George Runner

Obama Steals Jerry Brown’s Playbook

Given California’s chronic problems, it’s hard to imagine anyone sees our state as a model. But it’s clear the Obama administration does. And to make matters worse, President Obama is now using schemes from California’s playbook in his bid to impose our failures on the rest of the nation.

Much like Sacramento, Washington is mired in gridlock. The budget never really gets done and politicians seem to stumble from one crisis to the next. Like California Governor Jerry Brown, President Obama lacks the ability to forge true bipartisan consensus to solve problems.

Of… Read More

Jon Fleischman

ACA 4 – Requiring Bills To Be In Print 72 hours – Tubed By Dem Staff Report! Vote Is Today!

Tomorrow afternoon, Assembly Constitutional Amendment 4, is up for a hearing in an Assembly Budget Subcommittee. For who do not recall ACA 4, this is bipartisan legislation that has been proposed by Senator Lois Wolk (D) and Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen (R) that requires that before the Senate or the Assembly can vote on a bill, it must be in print (and available on the internet) for 72 hours in its final form. It also provides for an exception for urgency bills (2/3 vote) related to declared emergencies, and allows bills to be heard by committees after the contents of the bill have been available online for 15 days.

As I wrote in a column in support of ACA 4 that appeared in the Sacramento Bee, “There are three key reasons why this is a needed reform. The first is to make sure legislators are able to read, analyze and seek input on legislation before they vote on it. The second reason is the public deserves to be able to know what is being voted on by their elected officials in time to be able to express their views on legislation prior to a vote. Finally,… Read More

Jon Coupal

THE ONGOING WAR ON WORKING FOLKS

Why is it that the political party that once proudly declared that it stood for working people is now laboring so hard to cost those Californians who are still working their jobs?

The Democratic party so dominates the Legislature and all constitutional offices, that Republicans almost need a passport to enter Sacramento. One would think that this would be the majority party’s opportunity to help California, which is tied with two other states for the highest unemployment in the nation, get back to work.

While Democratic lawmakers may try to comfort themselves with statistics that show the unemployment rate is declining, a closer look shows that the statistics are misleading. The declining numbers result from significant numbers of the unemployed giving up on the job… Read More

Katy Grimes

California’s new undocumented jurors

The dead Boston Bomber, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, would have been eligible to serve on a jury in California, if state legislators have their way.

The Assembly passed a bill Thursday that would allow non-citizens who are in the U.S. legally to serve on jury duty.

Just when you thought the state couldn’t favor non-citizens any more, once again California is racing to be the first state in the country to pass a ridiculous law affording non-citizens rights previously reserved only for American citizens.

But that’s not all.

Democratic lawmakers at the state Capitol are currently trying to pass a law allowing illegal immigrants to obtain a California driver’s license. Last year they passed a law allowing illegal immigrants to apply for and receive student financial aid benefits and state-funded grants for college.

But here is an interesting thought: The dead Boston Bomber, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, would have been eligible to serve on a jury since he was a “legal immigrant” but not yet a citizen.

This is what life in California has become under a Democratic supermajority.

“Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, said his bill,… Read More

Jon Fleischman

Democrats “Battle” Over Education Non-Reforms

Much will be in the main stream media today about the “battle” shaping up between Governor Jerry Brown and Democrat legislative leaders, each of whom are putting forward plans that they say would improve the education for young children in California. However, when you look at their two plans, and then look at the vast challenges facing the state’s K-12 education system, you literally have to shake your head because, frankly, neither plan appreciably moves the needle. But yet the “warring parties” are so passionate about that which is so uninspiring.

It reminds me of one of the classic Star Trek episodes from the last season, Let This Be Your Last Battlefield. Two humanoid aliens, Bele and Lokai, are locked in a 50,000-year-long battle, into which the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise is drawn in. The passion between these two warring aliens was fierce — their dislike for one another immense. In the end, you find out that the reason for the hatred comes down… Read More

Jon Fleischman

Pics From The George W. Bush Library Opening Ceremony

This morning the Presidential Library of former President George W. Bush was opened in Dallas, Texas. Much can be read online about the event, and you can re-watch the ceremony on C-SPAN amongRead More

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