Sometimes you don’t miss something until it goes away. That’s the way it was in late November when the aging computer system running the state’s CAL-ACCESS database of political contributions clanked, wheezed, sent up a final gasp of steam and then shuddered to a halt for the best part of a month. Suddenly political junkies, [...]
Government finance doesn’t have to be complicated, although you wouldn’t know it from watching the budget dance in Sacramento. 1. Collect money and put it in the state general fund. 2. Let the governor and the Legislature decide how to spend it. 3. Repeat annually.
It’s already been an interesting week for the Democrats who would be governor. On Tuesday, state Controller John Chiang warned that the state could run out of cash by March. Also on Tuesday, Attorney General Kamala Harris announced that she is joining 11 other states in urging the Supreme Court to “protect against discriminatory housing [...]
Controller John Chiang got a nice little present from Democratic legislators this week when Assembly Speaker John Perez and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg decided to sue him. Lawsuits, especially one aimed at an ambitious young politician, typically fall into the no-fun-at-all category, leading as they can to pricy court battles that can bring [...]
You can say this about Gov. Jerry Brown: He doesn’t mind a fight. His State of the State address Wednesday morning was missing some of the in-your-face rhetoric that former Gov. Schwarzenegger was known for. And there was plenty of old-guy-looking-back reminisces from the state’s oldest-ever governor. But in a low-key, even-toned address, Brown made [...]
It’s looking more and more like Sen. Dianne Feinstein is going to get another walkover when she runs for re-election this November and that’s bad news for California. Nothing against Feinstein, who’s been a thoughtful, moderate and popular officeholder during her 19 years in the Senate. But it’s just wrong that someone should be able [...]
There’s already plenty of wishful thinking surrounding the state budget rolled out Thursday and most of it doesn’t come from Jerry Brown. Republicans and Democrats alike, each for reasons uniquely their own, see nothing but the bluest skies ahead for a California economy that’s featured little but storm clouds in recent years. For Republican legislators, [...]
With partisan gridlock bogging down both Sacramento and Washington, it’s easy to wonder whether Democrats and Republicans can ever get together, look beyond what’s best for their parties and make the tough decisions they were hired to make. Well, there’s one state body that’s shown multi-partisan, good government agreements still are possible and that’s why [...]
If Republican legislators thought they were ignored last year in the annual budget dance, Gov. Jerry Brown has made it clear they ain’t seen nothing yet. In a remarkably candid news conference Tuesday, the governor told reporters that it just doesn’t make political sense to work with GOP leaders next year, especially when he’s going [...]
Gov. Jerry Brown channeled his inner Arnold Schwarzenegger Monday and told a few million of his closest friends that he’s tired of dealing with the Legislature and will go to the ballot to get his tax plan approved. While the call guarantees 11 more months of fighting over taxes, it also means that California voters [...]
