Study Documents Higher Costs of Doing Business in California
California businesses on average have 19 percent higher operating costs per job than businesses in the rest of the country, according to a study released by the California Foundation for Commerce and Education. Business operating costs in California are on average 16% higher than for firms in large industrial states, and are 10% higher than the […]
A Vote Too Far: Voters Should Not “Advise” The Legislature
With little fanfare, California leaders are on the verge of breaking new ground for statewide ballot measures. This is not a good thing. Passed by the Legislature and awaiting a decision from the Governor is a bill that would put to voters this November an advisory question as to whether Congress should propose an amendment […]
Don’t Make CEQA Worse by Inserting Native American Religious Beliefs
State officials are appropriately gearing up to present a competitive economic development package to Tesla, the luxury electric vehicle manufacturer and the it company for this generation. Tesla is a consequential California corporate citizen. The company employs more than 6,000 in the state – at its Fremont assembly facility, its Palo Alto headquarters and its service […]
Clean Vehicles Should Lead the Way on Transportation Finance Overhaul
Last week I wrote of the release of a study discussing how a mileage fee could in theory replace the gasoline tax, to finance the maintenance and improvement of the state’s transportation system. This notion is embryonic in the realm of public policy. Oregon and Washington are toying with replacing their fuel taxes with mileage […]
Looking at a New Fee to Replace the Obsolete Gas Tax
California’s roads and highways are losing their financial base. The primary tax source to maintain and improve our state’s transportation infrastructure has been eroding for many years. The excise tax paid on each gallon of gasoline does not keep up with inflation, and steadily improving vehicle mileage means fewer taxable gallons of gasoline are purchased […]
The Mysteries of CEQA
Last week Governor Brown told assembled business leaders, I’m sure when (Governor) Ronald Reagan in 1969 signed the Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), he didn’t know about all the mysteries of CEQA that people were going to have to deal with for the next 45 years. I thought the Governor might have been exaggerating, but it […]
Spending Cap and Trade Auction Revenues Will Undermine California’s Climate Goals
To nobody’s surprise, the mere rumor of billions in new cap-and-trade auction revenues has incited a feeding frenzy among legislators and spending advocates. Unfortunately – and unsurprisingly – this frenzy has revealed either widespread ignorance or deep cynicism about how greenhouse gases can be reduced in California. Typically I would not bother with how legislators […]
Governor’s Budget Update: Health Costs Explode, Reserve Requirements Clamp Down
The Governor yesterday doubled down on his pledge to reduce state debt while releasing his annual update of the proposed state budget. While the Governor choked off requests for programmatic spending with one hand, by the other hand he doled out more than a billion dollars to cover rapid growth in the state’s health care […]
Next Gen Says High Gas Prices Matter Except When They Don’t
Next Generation is attempting to have its cake shortly after polishing it off. Using data generated by Next Generation, an advocacy organization for clean energy, Senator Anthony Cannella and Assemblywoman Kristen Olsen argued that poor, rural residents of the San Joaquin Valley will suffer disproportionately when the effects of the AB 32 requirements on fuels […]
New Alligators in the Litigation Swamp
The litigation swamp for California employers would get even muckier if the Legislature approves a bill to allow employees to file unlimited liens over unproven pay disputes. Up today in the Assembly Judiciary Committee, this bill should be titled the Permission to Harass Employers Act of 2014. It’s a sad fact that California has the […]