A Guide to Improving Government Efficiency
The California Taxpayers Association just released a report that identifies more than $7.3 billion that state and local government can save, or obtain from revenue enhancements, if proactive steps are taken to address inefficiencies and reform existing programs. Government Cost Savings Report: How State and Local Government Can Increase Efficiency and Become More Effective is […]
A Good Supreme Court Decision
Last week, the California Supreme Court made a common sense decision that will be good for California employers and employees. The ruling eliminates a major complaint that businesses and business organizations, like the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, have been urging the California Legislature to address for years. In a unanimous ruling, the court […]
Business Execs Optimistic About Economy; Not so About Business Climate
The California Foundation for Commerce and Education (of which I am the president) this week released its 2012 survey of business executives detailing current attitudes about the state’s economy, business climate, and budget. The study was sponsored by the California Chamber of Commerce. The entire survey can be found here. Business executives are more optimistic about […]
Soledad State Nurse Finds Solitude in $1 Million Payroll
As California grapples with its lagging budget and prospective initiatives on the California ballot to raise taxes, Bloomberg News reports that 42 California state nurses were paid $1 million each over a six-year period. Cited in the study by Bloomberg is Lina Manglicmot who has been paid $1.5 million since 2005, an average of $253,530 […]
California to Business: Get Out!
Crossposted City Journal Last year, a medical-technology firm called Numira Biosciences, founded in 2005 in Irvine, California, packed its bags and moved to Salt Lake City. The relocation, CEO Michael Beeuwsaert told the Orange County Register, was partly about the Utah destination’s pleasant quality of life and talented workforce. But there was a big “push […]
The strange politics of small gestures
On a slow news day, Speaker Perez grandiosely announced he would transfer a $1.2 million surplus from the Assembly’s budget to, of all places, the Secretary of State’s Office to "confront the massive delay in the processing of business filings," by helping the office tackle a backlog of nearly 200,000 documents. The Speaker’s putative reason […]
Antonio’s Exit Strategy: Countdown to Midnight June 30, 2013
Cross-posted at RonKayeLA.
With one foot in a cast and the other in the political grave, Antonio Villaraigosa hobbled into the lion’s den of San Fernando Valley unrest Monday night and offered a little song, a little dance and a lot of seltzer down everybody’s pants.
Mostly, he seemed preoccupied by the merciful end to his reign and his pain at 11:59 p.m. on June 30, 2013 – a fact he kept bringing up during an hour-long performance before a crowd of 200 Valleyites who attended the Daily News Town Hall with the mayor at Reseda High School, an event that is part of the newspaper’s celebration of its 100th anniversary year as the "Voice of the Valley."
Editorial Page Editor Mariel Garza did her best to push Antonio on the critical issues facing the city, its residents and businesses: City Hall’s overspending and under achieving.
Public safety employee contract may not convince skeptics
If you’re already skeptical about the state’s ability to cut billions of dollars from projected spending levels, the new contract Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration has negotiated with public safety employees will not do much to win your confidence.
A review of the deal by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s office shows how far it will likely come from achieving the 10 percent savings that Brown and lawmakers pledged to make it the next round of state employee contracts. The analyst believes the contract will actually increase costs this year, save just 2.8 percent next year and then start adding to the state’s payroll costs again the year after next.
The contract is for Unit 7, the public safety workers who protect state lands and buildings, issue licenses and permits, and conduct investigations. They include California Highway Patrol dispatchers, DMV examiners, Department of Justice agents, park rangers, and Department of Mental Health police. They also include fraud investigators for the automotive repair program.
Even Fast Food is Looking for a Quick Exit
Recently, Steven Greenhut of Cal Watch Dog wrote in the Orange County Register on why Carl’s Jr.’s parent company, CKE, is likely going to move its headquarters from Carpenteria to Texas. It was a fascinating insight into what companies are seeing in the business climate of California and why they do not feel this state is business friendly. The article came from a speech CKE CEO Andrew Puzder gave to the California Chamber of Commerce recently.
In the speech Puzder stated that it costs CKE Restaurants $250,000 more to build a restaurant in California than one in Texas, and that once a restaurant is built in California, the labor laws are incredibly restrictive. For example, California’s rigid work rules classify managers as regular employees. They are mandated to work a maximum of eight hours a day and take breaks at specific times of their shift. So when a busload of tourists comes into a CKE restaurant, if the manager is on a break, he or she must sit there and do nothing, rather than do their job.
Business Views on Budget Plan not Uniform
Business has become the focus of Governor Jerry Brown’s efforts to line up support for his budget plan. But business is far from unified and does not speak with a single voice.
Yesterday, Allan Zaremberg, president of the California Chamber of Commerce, gave Brown hope that the largest, most influential business organization in the state may support his plan to deal with the budget. Zaremberg was careful with his words and did not give an outright endorsement to any budget plan saying that would have to wait until all details are in place and the Chamber board has an opportunity to meet on March 11.
What may accompany the five-year tax extensions on a special election ballot that Brown is pushing could have a lot to do with his securing support from different segments of the business community.
When the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce recently endorsed Brown’s effort they did so with caution and recommendations advising the governor that the business leaders wanted to see regulation reform and a shorter period for the tax extensions.