Governor’s Budget Recognizes the Importance of Starting a Business
California’s business community has felt like a punching bag over the years, with rankings like CNBC’s showing the state placed last in the cost of doing business and business friendliness categories. So, it is refreshing that Governor Gavin Newsom recognizes the importance of small businesses to California’s economic well-being, which he does in his most […]
Quick Look at 2020 Bill Introductions
Friday, February 21, was the last day to introduce bills for the 2020 Legislative Session. We saw 735 new bills introduced between the two houses (512 ABs and 223 SBs) on the final day. That means the total number of bills introduced this Session is 2,203. The total number of bill introductions by the deadline […]
Irony—Voter Approved Debt vs. Non-Voter Approved Obligations
One week from today, Californians will finish voting on a $15 billion General Obligation Bond to be issued by the state if approved by voters. Currently, the state has $73 billion of voter-approved General Obligation Bond obligations outstanding that cost the General Fund $5 billion a year. Meanwhile, also outstanding are $250 billion of non-voter-approved obligations that […]
Keep Up With the Vote on the Political Data Tracker
The Political Data Inc. Absentee Ballot Tracker has been burning the midnight oil, with over a thousand PDI clients and friends signing up to get it emailed to them every night. Most have selected a statewide report, but many have honed in on their congressional or legislative district, even city and school board seats. If […]
2020 Session Inundated with AB 5 Exemption Bills
One of the most controversial bills coming out of the 2019 Legislative Session was Assembly Bill 5, by Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez (D – San Diego), dealing with the codification of the “ABC Test” found in the Dynamex decision for classification of workers. Since the enactment of AB 5 last fall, legislators up and down […]
Ready for the 2022 Governor’s Race? There’s a Poll Already!
We haven’t had a 2020 California election yet, but already there is a poll testing potential matchups in the 2022 governor’s race! A poll this early has little relevance and must come with the disclaimer that two years is a lifetime in politics. So much can change. Heck, maybe Gavin Newsom won’t be governor in […]
Growth Control on March Ballot
You’d think that in the middle of a state housing crisis – brought on by a woeful and sustained low level of production – elected leaders would be doing everything in their power to reverse it. But, if you’re a resident of San Diego County you would be wrong. Terribly wrong. Indeed, the southern part […]
Newsom makes big political wager
Gavin Newsom is rushing in where angels — and more cautious politicians — fear to tread by devoting virtually all of his second State of the State address to California’s seemingly intractable housing and homelessness crises. Newsom is staking his governorship, and perhaps his hopes of climbing further up the political pecking order, on jump-starting […]
Is Confusion Over the Label “Proposition 13” Affecting the Chances of the School Bond?
While the Proposition 13 property tax cut measure of four decades ago still enjoys a two-to-one advantage in polls, the Proposition 13 on the March 3 ballot for a $15 billion school bond is barely hanging on according to the new Public Policy Institute of California poll. The poll found “slim” support for the big […]