More fun with Prop 25 loopholes
Last week I recounted how legislators could still get paid
even if there is no budget in place by the beginning of the fiscal year in
July, in apparent contravention of the spirit of Proposition 25.
Today comes the story of how the Legislature has
passed with a majority vote and the Governor has signed substantive laws that
take effect immediately to implement the budget – but without a budget having
been presented to the Governor for his signature. This is probably legal, but
in this case again violates the spirit of Proposition 25.
All of this is permitted by a loophole in the "On-Time
Budget Act." The measure lowered the legislative vote requirement to pass a
budget from a two-thirds to simple majority. It also reduced the vote threshold
for "other bills providing for appropriations related to the budget bill."
These are commonly understood to mean substantive changes in the law necessary
to implement the state budget, but are not by its terms legally limited to
that. The only limitation in Prop 25 is that these bills must be "identified as
related to the budget in the budget bill passed by the Legislature."
Remembering Kam Kuwata
Kam Kuwata was a genuinely nice man. The Democratic political consultant was a great strategist who had a passion for the political arts. He and I were on the opposite sides in campaigns a number of times including the high-speed rail bond and the San Fernando Valley secession effort, to name a couple. As with all the campaigns he worked on, he loved the politics and the strategy.
Kam spoke to my Pepperdine public policy class last fall and I had him on my list to invite back when I heard the terrible news of his sudden passing.
Over dinner after the class, he spoke of the exhausting grind of running then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama’s 2008 Democratic Convention in Denver. But he was up to the hard task, not surprising for a guy who would wake as early as three in the morning to begin catching up with overnight political stories.
SCA 11 Allows State Agencies to Contract Out for Services
I have introduced new
legislation that will allow government agencies to contract out for supplies
and services with private business. Senate Constitutional Amendment (SCA) 11
will make government operations more affordable and efficient by encouraging
competition among private market service and equipment providers.
If you can find a
product or service in the Yellow Pages, the State of California should be using
those services rather than creating new bureaucracies at taxpayer expense. It’s
no secret that the private sector can do anything government does and usually
more efficiently, and at less cost.
Jobs for Autistics in California: A Call for Strategies
This week’s F&H employment posting is a call for ideas
from California’s workforce and
employment community. It arises from a long-running discussion with Dr. Lou Vismara.
Dr. Lou is described by more than a few Sacramento
residents, following the well-known Dos Equis beer ad, as the most interesting man in Sacramento,
due to his wide range of scientific, business and social endeavors (see "Stay
thirsty my friends"). A prominent
cardiologist, graduate of Stanford with an MD from Baylor College of Medicine, Dr.
Lou changed careers in 2000, a few years after his son Mark was diagnosed with
autism. Dr. Lou retired from interventional cardiology to work full-time on
child development and autism issues with the Office of the President of the
California Senate, where he continues today.