Bills, Bills, Bills…The Tally
817 bills were introduced in the Senate in 2017. Of those, 514 bills were passed by the Senate, while only 3 were refused passage on the Senate Floor. That leaves 303 bills as 2-year measures which may be considered in January 2018. So, 63% of introduced bills passed out of the Senate, while .4% of […]
What a difference three days makes: How voters shook up California’s Legislature
Something was different this year. As lawmakers in Sacramento approached the last night of their session—the final opportunity to pass or kill bills for the year—they had had three days to figure out how to vote. Three days may not sound like much, given the magnitude of the decisions involved in shaping policy for 39 […]
Plaintiffs’ lawyers appreciate Legislature’s data dump
In a recent article about a job-killing bill that threatens more workplace litigation, CalChamber’s Jennifer Barrera and the internet trade association ComTIA’s Kara Bush stated, “By using the smokescreen of transparency, the bill author and her plaintiffs’ attorneys allies aim to unravel the carefully structured compromise. In effect, the legislation would require employers to serve up reams of data […]
California Supreme Court Strengthens Local Government by the Developer and the Public Employees
Here’s one sign of just how awful the supermajority-crazy California system is. Even when a court eliminates a perfectly awful supermajority, it makes things worse. That’s what happened when the California Supreme Court killed off a supermajority that required local ballot initiatives that raised revenues to win supermajorities of voters to be approved. The court, […]
CA Should Raise Teacher Pay By Reducing Unfunded Retirement Liabilities
Fast-rising spending on pensions and other retirement costs is crushing teacher staffing and pay in California. As an example, retirement spending at San Francisco Unified School District grew 3x faster than district revenues over the last five years, absorbing $35 million that could have gone to current teachers. Worse, that happened despite record stock market gains and school revenues. Absent reform, […]
An Olympic Victory Bigger Than a Month in 2028
In the summer of 2028, the world will flock to Los Angeles to celebrate sports, share cultures and inspire the youth of our world to run faster, reach higher and grow stronger in all aspects of life. The Games will also leave a legacy for L.A., as they have in the past. Many athletes, coaches […]
Draper’s Three States Map Could Use Some Revision
Why does Tim Draper hate Southern California? I’m sympathetic to the venture capitalist’s attempts to split up California. Our state is more the size of a country than an American state. And splitting the state would give Californians to write new and at least semi-rational state constitutions for themselves. And that’s something we’ll never get […]
Tax Reform in Washington has CA Implications
The next great Washington debate will be over tax reform and accomplishing tax cuts will have major and positive implications for California businesses and jobs. If done right, tax reform is really a jobs bill. Cutting taxes for large and small businesses to 15 percent, as President Donald Trump wants to do, puts more resources […]
Business Friendly? California’s Moving Up!
Finally! California did not rank dead last in a survey of business friendliness. According to a report released last week by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, California came in No. 47 in what was described as its “lawsuit climate.” Now you might not think No. 47 is all that great, but it seems […]