On this “charge,” the Senator Doth Protest Too Much
"The lady doth
protest too much, methinks."
Hamlet, Act III, Scene
II
On the heels of the California Taxpayers Association releasing an excellent monograph on Understanding Proposition 26, the measure passed by voters last year to clarify what is a tax and what is a fee, the legislature is attempting to pass a tax on gasoline, which would require a two-thirds vote, as a simple majority vote "charge." SB 791 by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg "would authorize a metropolitan planning organization, subject to majority voter approval, to impose, for up to 30 years, a regional transportation congestion reduction charge on purchasers of motor vehicle fuel."
In Section 1 of the bill, from paragraphs f thru l, the author describes how this charge is not in violation of Proposition 26’s requirement for a two-thirds vote.
Seven paragraphs arguing the measure is not a tax! Methinks the Senator protests too much.
The oft-quoted phrase from the pen of Shakespeare is
defined as one can "insist so passionately about something not being true
that people suspect the opposite of what one is saying."
Citizen Commission Far Preferable to Politician-run Redistricting
A couple years ago, I was talking to a small business owner who was venting his frustration about California’s broken political system: “Why should I get involved when my voice doesn’t even count?” I promised him at the time that the wheels were in motion to enact reforms in the state that would finally allow us to hold our politicians accountable. Part of those reforms, voter-approved Propositions 11 and 20, created the Citizens Redistricting Commission so politicians will no longer be in charge of drawing election districts to protect their jobs and the jobs of their friends. With fair election districts, politicians will actually have no choice but to listen to voters’ voices or lose their jobs.
The 14-member Citizens Redistricting Commission has just completed their work on legislative, Board of Equalization and congressional district maps. And, as promised to voters who approved redistricting reforms, the redistricting process was undertaken in fully-noticed public meetings throughout the state, allowing for, and welcoming, community input. Much of the proceedings, including the Commission selection process, were also provided for public viewing online. The National Federation of Business/California and our members around the state were involved throughout the process, providing input and recommendations. Last week, the final maps were approved by a diverse group of Commissioners with nearly unanimous votes.
The Jobs Perplex: California, Labor Day 2011
In California, we head into Labor Day 2011 with an
unemployment rate of 12%, and 2,257,000 Californians counted as unemployed. This
is an improvement over Labor Day 2010, when unemployment was at 12.4% and 2,330,000
Californians were unemployed . But, as previously detailed in Fox and Hounds,
this economic recovery has been very slow, far slower than previous recoveries
in California, and predictions are for unemployment to continue over 10% for
some time. We have reached the Jobs
Perplex.
The past year has seen a small group of California industries
expanding employment. Nearby my office,
in the South of Market area of San Francisco, hundreds of internet commerce and
social media start-ups are in active start-up mode, joining the established
Twitter, Zynga, and Salesforce.com employment generators in the area.
Voters Should Transform The L.A. City Council Into A Part-Time Council
Los Angeles City Council members are the
nation’s highest paid at $178,789 per year.
The part-time Washington, D.C. council is next at $130,538. New York’s part-time council makes $121,725
per year.
The L.A. Council costs the most per seat, $1.7
million, employs staff of over 300, and each receives a car (with parking meter
immunity) and a $100,000 yearly taxpayer-financed slush fund.
A part-time council would benefit city
governance. In addition to savings, a
part-time council provides access to a more diverse field of
professionals. Candidates would not have
to leave their private or public sector careers to serve. A part-time council takes advantage of talent
and experience from outside City Hall – members that create jobs and balance
budgets on a regular basis. City Hall
could use a daily dose of the real world.
Controlling costs must be paramount in health care reform
This is a critical time for the Affordable Care Act, the health care reform law passed by Congress last year. There is much at stake – for businesses, for consumers and for our economy. At the Bay Area Council, we believe the entire business community can and must play an active and vocal role in keeping cost control at the center of the health care reform bull’s-eye.
Rising health care costs continue to be a scourge on our economy, sapping resources and capital, and hampering our efforts to put the Great Recession behind us and start creating jobs. While the current economic malaise has reduced the rate at which costs are increasing, spending on health care nationwide continues to outpace the economy. Projecting from the latest figures from the California HealthCare Foundation, California health care spending has risen by 225 percent over the past two decades.