A Two-Thirds Democratic State Senate
The Redistricting Commission is now history. It has certified its final maps and all that’s left is the counting: who gets how many seats under the new maps.
In the Assembly, the consensus is that there is not much change. Few seats will be in play next year; most incumbents are reasonably safe. The two party breakdown in the Assembly is not likely to change very much.
The State Senate is a much different story. Here the consensus is that the commission handed the Democrats a two thirds majority in the Senate. That will lead to dramatic changes in how California is governed. Certainly Gov. Brown will not need to go hat in hand to Republicans looking for votes to raise taxes; a two thirds Senate will be able to raise taxes pretty much at will, and there is every reason to assume that future budgets will be balanced with tax increases rather than additional cuts.
The Sign I’d Wear on My Chest
I know that Senate Bill 448 — which requires circulators of
initiative and referendum petitions to wear large badges or signs on their
chests explaining, in 30 point type, that they are paid – is probably
unconstitutional, given that it restricts the First Amendment rights of people
to petition their government.
And I know it’s sort of pointless,
since Californians already know that circulators are paid and since the change
doesn’t do anything about what’s wrong with the initiative process. Real reform
involves making changes to what the process can do and integrating it with the
budget and the legislative process and the rest of our governing system.
Unfortunately, much of the legislation to change the process in California would
limit access to the process – even though the process is already inaccessible
to anyone who isn’t rich. (Which is why virtually all circulators are paid).
But I love this idea – mainly
because there’s nothing better than a big, goofy badge and sign.
For business, California’s cap and trade law provides new opportunities
Gina DiCaro of CMTA implied in his piece, California’s cap-and-trade needs to be well designed to protect manufacturers, that California’s landmark clean energy law, AB 32, threatens our state’s manufacturing industry.
Manufacturing in California has faced a range of threats for some time as a result of larger economic trends – including heavy investment by the Chinese government to grow Chinese manufacturing companies in virtually every sector. But AB 32 actually represents an important part of the solution because it has helped to drive investment in the fastest growing sector of California’s economic future: clean energy innovation, which is helping our state usher in the manufacturing jobs of the future.
In the few years since AB 32 was adopted, more than $11 billion in venture capital has been invested in California, at a time when our economy needed it the most. In fact, the National Venture Capital Association estimates that each $100 million in venture capital funding will help create 2,700 jobs directly and support other jobs indirectly, while generating $500 million in annual revenue over two decades.
Put Out The Fire — Pass Legislation to Send Californians Back To Work
When part of our California landscape is burning, we send in the firefighters. The California dream is ablaze for millions of able men and women whose ability to support their families has gone up in smoke. The California Legislature will adjourn the 2011 legislative session on Friday, Sept. 9. Taking bold action in the next three weeks will not require more tax revenue, but it will require bipartisanship, political will and a relentless focus on passing laws that will encourage and enable the private sector to create new jobs for Californians.
Our 12 percent unemployment rate — with more than 2 million unemployed workers — is not a Democratic or Republican problem, it is a California problem. When Californians are not working, we have a poverty problem and a state revenue problem. California currently has the second highest rate of unemployment in the nation, an almost unimaginable situation given the vast resources of this great State. And it is getting worse. We have 53,000 fewer Californians working today than a year ago.