A Funding Plan for CA Infrastructure

Senate Republicans formally introduced legislation yesterday that guarantees the transportation tax dollars we all pay are directed to California’s roads, highways and bridges. Senate Constitutional Amendment (SCA) 7 closes a loophole in California’s Constitutional protections that has led to a diversion of transportation taxes and fees that takes money away from transportation infrastructure projects. We […]

No-Frills Bond Has Necessary Water Storage Component

I’m pleased with the actions taken by Republicans and Democrats to forge a bipartisan compromise on a water bond that will appear on this November’s ballot. The $7.5 billion dollar plan is important for a number of reasons. First and foremost, while we’ve passed five or so “water” bonds in the past 15 years in […]

Elections Committee Votes Down Tough Ethics Reform

Members of the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee killed SB 1379, which contained some of the toughest ethics and campaign finance restrictions put forward since three Democratic lawmakers were suspended while facing criminal charges, two of them involving corruption. My bill, the Legislative Reform and Transparency Act of 2014, sought to reform campaign financing […]

A Back Room Deal Budget

(Editor’s note: Following is the text of the floor speech delivered by Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff on the proposed 2014-15 California budget) All things considered this is not a bad budget framework.  There are some bills that our caucus will vote for today, and some that we won’t.  We agree with many items in […]

Brown Must Hold the Line Against Demands for More Spending

I am glad to see the governor is continuing to prioritize fiscal responsibility. Spending restraint has been our mantra for years.  I appreciate that he borrowed heavily from Republican proposals like the rainy day reserve, paying off our debts and addressing unfunded liabilities like CalSTRS. The governor has been pretty responsible thus far with his […]

The State Budget is Not a Ham Sandwich

Last week, Senate Democrats voted for forty empty budget “spot” bills (bills without any content) so that they can quietly pass a budget later this summer without allowing time for public inspection.  This is possible because of Proposition 25 (2010), which allows for budget-related bills enacted on a majority vote to take effect immediately.    Since Democrats have […]

Democrats Defeat Measure to Protect Teachers and Students

Democrats who control the Senate Education Committee voted down a measure today to protect California teachers and save valuable school resources. SB 559, which I authored, would have moved the state mandated deadlines for preliminary and final teacher layoff notices so that school districts can better understand their budget revenues before sending notices to teachers. […]

BART Unions Must Honor a No-Strike Contract Clause

I have introduced legislation that would compel BART employees to honor the no-strike clause in their labor contract. SB 423 was introduced to prompt a solution and provide the San Francisco Bay Area some relief from the pending BART strike in October. In a letter to Governor Brown, I asked that the governor call a […]

Majority Party Walks Away from Students

SACRAMENTO: Legislation that would have allowed schools to protect their best teachers was defeated by Democrats in the Senate Education Committee today. SB 453, authored by Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar), would have allowed districts to make staffing decisions based on performance evaluations and factors other than a teacher’s simple date of hire […]

Senate Republican Leader Huff Challenges CA Attorney General to Take Action on CA Parks and CalFire Funding Scandals

Editor’s Note: Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar) publicly called on the California Attorney General to take action against those individuals in the CA Parks and Recreation Department who deliberately attempted to hide $20 million in taxpayer money. The following remarks are from today’s Senate Floor address. Mr. President and Colleagues: Tomorrow, April 12th, […]