Correctional Reforms Report is Encouraging
The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) report,“California’s Historic Corrections Reforms,” reveals that recent historic correctional reforms have reduced incarceration levels of low-level offenders without broadly increasing crime rates. That was a goal of Proposition 47 and we now see evidence that the goal is being achieved. Every Californian has a fundamental right to be safe […]
More Business Leaves California
(Editor’s Note: Senator Gaines issued the following statement on the closure of the Verizon customer service center in Rancho Cordova and the 1,000 jobs lost as a result of that closure.) Who can be surprised by this? California is doing everything it can to drive businesses out of the state. Sky-high workers compensation costs, painful energy […]
Not Too Late for a Write-In Campaign
I’m as frustrated as many of you about this year’s presidential campaign. Even before the recent Wikileaks revelations tainting the Clinton campaign and the videotape adding another indictment against the Trump candidacy, this year’s election fell so low in the gutter it would take a ladder to reach the curb. But if you are frustrated […]
Is The Tobacco Business Now the General Fund’s Only Friend?
The general fund is responsible for its core government functions – education, healthcare, prisons. It’s the financial heart of our state. Naturally, everyone hates it. Much of California budget politics – and many of our initiatives – consists of making war on the general fund. Indeed, warmaking against the general fund is a bipartisan passion. […]
California’s Surprise Medical Bill Law Papers Over a Systemic Problem
Insured patients who go into hospital for scheduled surgery are often shocked to find they owe bills well beyond what they expected to pay, especially if they understood the hospital and surgeon to be in their health plan’s network. The problem usually occurs when an anesthesiologist or other specialist involved in the procedure is not […]
California has a New Climate Policy that Won’t Help
You wouldn’t expect a document titled “Vibrant Communities and Landscapes” to make so many people this angry. “We are writing to express our concern and dismay over the draft ‘Vibrant Communities’ document,” wrote the Los Angeles County Business Federation (BizFed) on behalf of more than 163 business groups, 325,000 employers and 3 million jobs. “Radical […]
Politics and the English Language at the Ballot Box
This November, when California voters face Proposition 58 on the ballot, many of them may not realize what they are voting on – and new research suggests their ignorance will make a difference. Proposition 58, placed on the ballot by the legislature and the governor, seeks to repeal the key provision of Proposition 227, the […]
More transparency in politics and policy
“Transparency” may be more than just a buzzword come 2017. Proposition 54, teed up for the November ballot, would mandate the Legislature enforce a three-day public notice before voting on any bill, eliminating back-room, late-night deals that would otherwise shrivel in the light of day. Any citizen, regulated party or reporter could review and digest legislative amendments […]
Business Groups Back Prop 56
It is no secret that smoking kills people. But on top of being the single largest cause of preventable death in California, it is exacting an enormous toll on our state’s economic health. This is why some of California’s largest and most influential business groups are doing something we don’t typically see: supporting a tax […]