This last few weeks, the mostly closely guarded piece of information in state government politics was precisely where Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez went vacationing with his family in Europe. Because I couldn’t identify precisely where on the "Continent" the Nunez family went, I reached out and used a photo of the Eiffel Tower as being symbolic of Europe.

Well, we have learned from a very reliable source that while Californian has had no budget, Fabian and family have been relaxing in Greece! So when I mentioned that he was likely eating a croissant, it was actually probably some Souvlaki.

So, we now publish a photo of the ruins of the Greek Parthenon, that sits on the Acropolis, high above… Read More

This just in from Bill Leonard: I had an excellent discussion with Finance Director Mike Genest yesterday. Among things I learned is there is a difference between the way the Department of Finance and the LAO report their Budget numbers, although they arrive at the same conclusions. On July 24, Legislative Analyst Liz Hill summarized the situation this way: “Revenues and Expenditures. The budget assumes the state will start 2007-08 with a fund balance of $4.8 billion. It projects $102.3 billion in budget-year revenues, an increase of 6.5 percent from 2006-07. The budget authorizes expenditures of $103 billion, an increase of 1.3 percent from 2006-07. The… Read More

You would have thought that Gov. Romney was in San Diego today when he made clear his position on illegal immigration–no front -of-the-line pass to for illegals! He was actually in Eastern Iowa.

ROMNEY: "And with regards to illegal immigration, I want to secure our border, I want to have an employment verification system to know who’s here legally and not, and sanction employers that hire people that are illegal once that system is in place, and finally for those that have come here illegally – welcome them to get in line for permanent residency or citizenship, but in line with everybody else. No special pathway for those who come here illegally." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSrazudhdYE

Why is it so hard for other candidates to say these words?… Read More

SENATE GOP BUDGET WEBSITE State Senate Republicans have launched a new website on the California State Budget which is a great resource for obtaining information on where Senate Republican are coming from in terms of what they feel need to be compents of a fiscally prudent budget. The site provides the latest media statements from Senate Republican leadership, compiles statements and opinion pieces from Senate Republicans, gives a clear perspective of what has happened to date, and, as I said, lays out policy objectives. We’ll continue on this site to provide comprehensive coverage of the budget debate, and will alert FR readers to new and interesting content over on the Senate Republicans’ Budget site — but you should definately check it out here. (h/t to Matt Ross in Senator Ackerman’s office) WHERE ARE OUR LEGISLATORS? Today marks yet another day that California does not have… Read More

Yesterday, Congressman John Campbell blogged (see a few posts below this one) about his questioning of an egregious earmark on the floor of Congress. The pork project was called the "Paint Shield for Protecting People from Microbial Threats."

This is such a "must watch" for FR readers that I have put the video right here (courtesy of our friends at Club for Growth). Take a few minutes now, or at some point, and watch this.

Congressman Campbell lays out a succinct 5 point criteria for a credible earmark. Every Member of Congress should ask these questions before submitting ANY earmark requests. Appropriations Committee Members should be asking these questions before approving any requests, and on the floor, all Members of Congress must insist on an affirmative answer to all 5 points.

If an earmark cannot pass these 5 criteria, it is EGREGIOUS and should be rejected.… Read More

SENATE GOP BUDGET WEBSITE State Senate Republicans have launched a new website on the California State Budget which is a great resource for obtaining information on where Senate Republican are coming from in terms of what they feel need to be compents of a fiscally prudent budget. The site provides the latest media statements from Senate Republican leadership, compiles statements and opinion pieces from Senate Republicans, gives a clear perspective of what has happened to date, and, as I said, lays out policy objectives. We’ll continue on this site to provide comprehensive coverage of the budget debate, and will alert FR readers to new and interesting content over on the Senate Republicans’ Budget site — but you should definately check it out here. (h/t to Matt Ross in Senator Ackerman’s office) WHERE ARE OUR LEGISLATORS? Today marks yet another day that California does not have… Read More

In our commentary yesterday, we featured some input on the state budget from State Board of Equalization Member Bill Leonard (you can read that here).

Mike Genest, the Governor’s Director of Finance (who has written a couple of columns for this site in the past, so he gets high marks from the FR team) penned this "rebuttal" as it were to Leonard’s comments: First, regarding Bill Leonard’s comments on the bonds, there… Read More

Early in the morning on Sunday, as we were finishing up amendments on the Defense Appropriations bill, I debated an earmark challenge with the Chairman of the Defense Subcommittee on Appropriations, Congressman John Murtha (D-PA). The earmark allocated $2 million to Sherwin-Williams Paint Company to develop what they described as a "paint shield to protect against microbial attacks." As the sponsor of the amendment, Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (D-OH) did not come down to defend her earmark. The defense was left to Congressman Murtha.

Hereis a… Read More