A Need for More Transparency and Accountability in Sexual Harassment Cases
(Editor’s Note: Assemblyman Vince Fong is one of six legislators on the Subcommittee on Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation Prevention and Response. He issued the following statement after yesterday’s initial five-hour hearing on allegations of pervasive harassment in and around the Capitol. More about yesterday’s hearing can be found here.) What is abundantly clear is that […]
Homeless Solutions Should Not Target Homeowners
As the search for solutions to the homeless problem continues current property owners and the equity they have in their homes are often cited as targets for funding homelessness relief. What is ignored with these proposed remedies is that homeowners are counting on the equity in their homes to help with retirement or other needs. […]
2018 Brings New Protections for Employee Whistleblower Complaints
On October 3, 2017, Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 306 (Hertzberg – Van Nuys) as Chapter 460, which takes effect on January 1, 2018. This bill substantially changes the laws regarding employee retaliation actions and tips the scales in favor of employees. Under SB 306, the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) is authorized […]
Jerry Brown Steps Up For Citizens
California Governor Jerry Brown has filed a legal brief with the state’s Supreme Court arguing that pensions for government employees should work no differently than pensions for non-government employees. Students, citizens, taxpayers and future government employees would be better off if the court agrees. At issue is a special treatment claimed by California government employee […]
While Other Nations Fear The “Silver Tsunami,” The Golden State Should Learn To Surf The Coming Aging Wave
It’s time to finally ditch the “Silver Tsunami” label about longevity. By 2020 one in five Californians—about 8 million residents of America’s nation-state—will be aged sixty years or older. That ratio will climb to one in four by 2030. But it’s not like some huge wave of gray-headed folk is going to inundate Fresno. Having […]
National Park Fees, State Gas Taxes and the AG’s Policy Choices
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra wants to keep national park fees down so poor people can afford entry in their vehicles. However, the gas tax repeal effort, which critics say he disfavors based on the title and summaries he authored on repeal initiatives, might keep drivers from even reaching the parks because of the increased […]
A Cheech Thanksgiving
This week, California should give thanks for Cheech. Richard Anthony Marin deserves our gratitude not just because his new autobiography, Cheech Is Not My Real Name … But Don’t Call Me Chong, turns out to be the best California book of the year. And not just because his career should give you hope that no […]
Los Angeles in Pension Denial
Why are Councilmembers Paul Krekorian, the Chair of the Budget & Finance Committee, and Paul Koretz, the Chair of the Personnel Committee, and Mayor Eric Garcetti unwilling to be transparent about the City’s pension crisis that contributes to its never ending Structural Deficit and is crowding out basic services to Angelenos? Our friends who occupy […]
State budget seems healthy, but it isn’t
Mac Taylor, the Legislature’s top adviser on the state budget, delivered some superficially good news this month to his bosses. With no economic downturn on the horizon, he said in his annual survey of the state’s fiscal situation, there should be no problem writing a balanced 2018-19 budget next year. In fact, he said, with revenues continuing […]