Two Republicans in the California State Legislature are now voting for legislation sponsored by the state’s construction unions, following several years of unified, principled caucus resistance to such schemes. One might think that former Republican legislators Brett Granlund, Anthony Pescetti, and Ken Maddox are back from term-limited exile, in disguise.

Union leaders and lobbyists are thrilled! They can now label their costly, self-serving bills as “bipartisan” while labeling their more principled critics as “extremist.”

A Bipartisan Attack on Constitutional Rights, Local Control, and Fiscal Responsibility

Most prominent among the union-backed bills with Republican support is Senate Bill 7. This bill would withhold state funding for any of the state’s 121 charter cities that exercise their right under the state constitution to set their own government-mandated wage rate policies for purely municipal construction.

SB 7 undermines the principle of local control over local funds and the fundamental structure of constitutional federalism. It also punishes fiscally responsible cities that recognize how state-mandated… Read More

The United States Senate is currently considering the Federal Free Flow of Information Act. This would be a “shield law” that would protect the ability of journalists to keep their sources confidential. Right now 49 states and the District of Columbia have shield laws in place, but the federal government does not. This is a good idea, and I applaud the effort. Unfortunately the legislation has gotten hung because of one sticky issue — who is a journalist.

Our senior United States Senator, Dianne Feinstein, has introduced an amendment to this legislation (on behalf of both herself and Senator Durbin of Illinois) that would seek to narrowly define a journalist, with the rather obvious intent of trying to exclude independent and citizen journalists, such as bloggers.

Larry Atkins over in the Huffington Post reports:

The bill currently defines it [a journalist] as a person “with the primary intent to investigate events and procure material in order to disseminate to the public news or information… Read More

Transgender students in California will now have the right to use whichever bathrooms they prefer, and participate in either the girls’ or boys’ programs and sports teams, because of monumental legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday.

AB 1266 by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, amends the state’s education code, and requires that in addition to accessing the bathrooms of their choosing, each student will have access to sports teams, and programs “consistent with his or her gender identity,” rather than the student’s biological gender.

A boy who self-identifies as female could use the girls’ bathroom, even if he is anatomically male.

Do you see a problem with this?

Imagine a hormonal middle school or high school-aged boy who just wants the cheap thrill of looking at girls undressing in the locker room, or taking showers. (This would be just about every 13-year-old boy)

The libidinous lad will now be able to claim he is really a transgender.

So, for a few days he dons a dress, jewelry and makeup, and uses the girls’ bathrooms and locker room.When the gig is up, and his face breaks out from the makeup,… Read More

In a recent piece published online at Fox & Hounds Daily, Joel Fox reminds us of the 1996 Constitutional Revision Commission, on which he served.

He recalls the Commission’s recommendation to eliminate a number of California’s elected offices, including the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Insurance Commissioner, the Treasurer and the State Board of Equalization. In the Commission’s plan, most of these positions would still exist, but the Governor rather than voters would choose who serves in them.

One might assume fewer elected officials would translated into significant savings for taxpayers. In some instances that may be the case.

But when it comes to taxes, and who we trust to administer them, Joel is 100% correct. It is imperative that whoever oversees California’s numerous tax and fee programs be directly accountable to voters.

The three letters, I, R and S, should prove my case.

But if that’s not enough, consider also the Franchise Tax Board. In response to a 2012 court decision, the agency… Read More

Judge William P. Clark passed away at his Shandon ranch east of Paso Robles on Saturday at the age of 81. He led a long and distinguished career as a public servant, as a Superior Court Judge in San Luis Obispo County and later as an Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court. He worked on Ronald Reagan’s first campaign for Governor, and later followed him to Sacramento as Chief of Staff. When Reagan went to Washington in 1980, Bill Clark went too, serving as Deputy Secretary of State, National Security Advisor, and later as Secretary of the Interior. He was the President’s most trusted and dependable advisor, serving him not just as another aide or cabinet secretary, but as a friend— someone who truly understood him.

I first met the Judge in Washington, DC when he was serving as Secretary of the Interior. A cattle rancher and fourth generation Californian, Bill was a lifelong conservationist who restored the public’s trust in the Interior Department after his predecessor’s disastrous term.

I believe Judge Clark’s single greatest accomplishment was to lay the groundwork to undermine Soviet communism and win the Cold War by working to contain… Read More

Earlier this week former state senator Gloria Romero published a lengthy article in the San Diego Union-Tribune entitled “Fixing California: The union chokehold.” Reprinted with permission onUnionWatch, it describes how public sector unions, virtually unopposed, have undermined the effectiveness and overpriced the costs of government at all levels in California.

Romero, a liberal Democrat who served for seven years as senate majority leader in California’s state legislature, knows what she’s talking about. Her focus is on education, where the teachers unions have blocked meaningful reforms for years; protecting bad teachers from being terminated, promoting based on seniority instead of merit, taking over local school boards with hand-picked, union-financed candidates, attacking charter schools, prioritizing teacher compensation and job security over student achievement, and pushing a social agenda in front of academic fundamentals. Romero considers it a civil rights issue, since the negative impact of… Read More

We’re pleased to share this piece from Katie McAuliffe, Executive Director of Digital Liberty & Federal Affairs Manager at Americans for Tax Reform.

Given California’s precarious economic situation, it would seem unwise for the state to make its business climate any more difficult for those still choosing to operate there. However, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has chosen to persecute only one of the many prepaid wireless carriers in the state.

On July 11, 2013 a decision before the CUPC was handed down ordering TracFone to pay nearly $24.5 million to make up for user fees and public purpose program surcharges that were uncollected, despite previously declaring TracFone exempt from the charges. The CPUC disregarded clear evidence that prepaid wireless does not charge a monthly rate or know whether a call is inter- or intra- state like traditional telecommunications companies.

TracFone’s issue with CPUC stems from the fact that, unlike monthly subscription plans, prepaid wireless is a debit service, and thus cannot be not subject to fees in the same way as traditional… Read More

We’re pleased to share this piece fromLawrence J. McQuillan is senior fellow and director of the Center on Entrepreneurial Innovation atThe Independent Institutein Oakland, California.

The big budget bills have been resolved for this legislative session but the public has good reason to remain on alert. Senate Bill 1, introduced by State Senator Darrell Steinberg (D – Sacramento), is so dangerous that the Assembly should swiftly kill it.

The measure will allow any California city or county to create a “Sustainable Communities Investment Authority,” governed by unelected bureaucrats selected by the city or county officials themselves. Each newly created Authority will build development projects in designated geographic areas. These will comply with SB 375, which connects California land use to the state’s climate change law, AB 32, which sets goals for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

… Read More