Stacking the Deck on Elections
A budget bill has been introduced that would lengthen the time to qualify recall elections. One might say this bill came out of the blue—blue California, that is. Changing election rules to benefit their positions is becoming a habit with Democrats in the legislature. The presumed object of the bill, SB 96, is to forestall […]
Brown Does the Lord’s Work on Prop 56
In California, the act of trying to make an inflexible ballot initiative a little more flexible is the Lord’s work. Which brings me to the fight over Prop 56. When you voted on that measure, you might have thought you were casting a ballot merely over the raising of taxes on tobacco. But, no. As […]
Board of Equalization Overhaul Hurts Taxpayers
Public trust in government is eroded every time non-budgetary policy changes are rammed through the Legislature under the cover of the state budget process. Proposed budget trailer bills (AB 102 and SB 86) amount to untested structural changes that will hinder the Board of Equalization’s ability to continue collecting one-third of the state’s annual revenue. […]
Why State Tax Deduction Will Stand
Articles and accounts about the possibility of federal tax reform typically conclude with this: Californians appear poised to get thumped. More than anyone else in the country. Indeed, if you’ve read such accounts about looming tax changes, you probably sighed and sorrowfully agreed that it seems logical, inevitable, close to absolute certitude that Californians, and […]