A "water deal" that results in a massive bond package of nearly $10 billion would not go before voters until at the earliest June of next year. Which means that the drive to achieve a two-thirds majority vote for a water package NOW is on an "artificial" deadline. Given that there are so many open issues out there, it is pretty clear that we need to put on the political brakes, step back, and decide if the way that this particular water deal is coming together represents good public policy for California.
As a conservative, I have grave concerns on the bond part of this deal. The package, as described to me, contains literally BILLIONS in spending that is not in there due to "need" (to solve the water crisis) but is in their either to appease special interests or to try and broaden coalition of votes necessary on the Democrat side of the aisle.
Never mind that the Democrats are taking advantage of the water crisis by pushing for all kinds of regulations on conservation issues that have no bearing on the storage and movement of water.
Look, I don’t expect that I will be pleased with the ultimate water package — frankly there isn’t a package I would support that could garner the requisite number of Democrat votes.
But the package that is on the table now contains WAY too many regulations and SPENDS WAY TOO MUCH MONEY. It’s not even close to something that should be put before Californians during the best of times, let alone during a recession.
It’s time for legislative leaders to take a TIME OUT. Prioritize taking a deep breath and discussing these policy issues not only with Capitol insiders — but get back out to your districts and constituents. Figure out what they think about the proposal, and get some bearings.
The one thing that we should avoid at all costs is trying to jam through a deal in haste — only to discover that it wasn’t a good deal. The focus MUST be on the policy IN a deal, not in the timing OF a deal. We saw what happened last February with the need for an "urgent deal" — taxes went up and voters had to exercise some "adult supervision" and reject even more taxes at the polls.
Let’s take care to produce a package on the water issue that resembles less the full-blown "Christmas Tree" approach with ornaments for every special interest, and instead focus on the austerity plan that solves the problem mindful of infringing as little as possible on the liberty of Californians, whether through excessive borrowing or over regulation.