State of California

Prop 30 Would Affirm ‘California Promise’ To Education, Social Mobility

prop30-textBy Dan Aiello 

GUEST COMMENTARY – Advocates of universal access to higher education fear California voters, faced with two competing education tax initiatives will fail both, effectively abandoning the state’s historic commitment to provide access to higher education for all.

Prop 30 will provide funding to California’s K-12 schools, but additionally will fund the state’s university, state college and community college systems to offset state budget cuts that have already endangered access to the educational opportunities once guaranteed all qualified students by the state under its Master Plan on Education.

My View: Online Voting Resolution May Change Outcome of Several State Elections

voting-booth

About 20 years ago when the US Congress passed the Motor Voter Law, I recall a friend of mine, a political consultant, telling me how this law would change the political dynamics in this country.  It did not – however, perhaps my friend was merely ahead of his time.

When Governor Jerry Brown signed into law six weeks ago a bill that would enable online voter registration, no one I think realized how big an impact it would have.  Earlier this week, the LA Times reported that the number of registered voters in California surged to record levels, passing for the first time the 18 million mark.

Six Problems with Governor Brown’s Tax Measure

prop30-textby Jeff Boone

COLUMN RIGHT – This November we will be asked to vote on Proposition-30, Governor Brown’s state ballot initiative to increase sales and income tax to help fund education and public safety.

If approved, Prop-30 will require an amendment to the California Constitution.  It will increase sales tax by .25% for four years.

The Loss of Proposition 30 Would be Catastrophic in the Short-Term for Education

Mercury-News-Prop-30VANGUARD ANALYSIS – Polling last week showed support for Proposition 30 had dropped to as low as 46 percent – still technically ahead in the polls, but conventional wisdom is that measures with less than 50 percent support, especially tax measures, are in trouble.

That means that K-12 schools will be hammered with six billion dollars in cuts, including about 3.7 million dollars locally – an amount that might be offset starting in July 2013 if voters in Davis approve the parcel tax Measure E that will not only renew previous emergency funding from 2011 but also add a contingency in case Proposition 30 goes down.

What Happens to Education if Prop 38 Passes and Prop 30 Fails?

Brown-MungerThis week, just as the two sides were prepared to go to war, Molly Munger, the backer of Proposition 38, decided to pull statewide ads attacking Proposition 30.

Proposition 30 is on life support, with recent polls showing it passing with barely 50 percent, what pundits are calling “a precarious position for a tax hike initiative with three weeks to go until Election Day.”

Governor’s Tax Imperiled by Fighting with Molly Munger?

Brown-Munger

While many are focusing on the Presidential Election or the local school board and parcel tax elections, Proposition 30 may have the single greatest impact locally, not just on K-12 education but also higher education.

A complication is a competing tax measure from Molly Munger.  Most analysts downplayed the impact when polls showed that the wealthy attorney Molly Munger, who has spent more than $30 million on her campaign, was only getting in the low 40s in support as opposed to 51 percent for Proposition 30.

California Takes the Lead on Voter Access with Three New Laws

Bowen-votingIt has been a long time since California has been on the forefront of anything in this nation.  However, as many other states have moved to making voting more difficult, enacting draconian if not disenfranchising laws, California in the past week has moved in the other direction, enacting same-day voter laws, online registration, and other innovations.

In a press release, the ACLU announced, “California leads the nation in promoting voter access.”  They applaud a third voter access law which enables voter registration through the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

Critical Tax Measure Too Close To Call

Jerry-BrownA new survey conducted jointly by The Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) at UC Berkeley and The Field Poll finds the initiative backed by Governor Jerry Brown, Proposition 30, continuing to lead but with support marginally lower than in early July and the undecided proportion increasing.

While much of the focus locally will be on the school parcel tax, Measure E, and the School Board races, one of the most critical election battles outside of Yolo County that will affect us locally is Proposition 30, the Governor’s Tax.

California Moves Forward Allowing Online Voter Registration

debra-bowen-official-photoThere have been past efforts to increase voter participation.  In my first election as an adult, my generation launched “Rock the Vote,” aimed at getting the participation of youth.  Later there was the Motor Voter Law that allowed people to register as they renewed their driver’s license.

Now, Secretary of State Debra Bowen, Senator Leland Yee and San Mateo County Chief Elections Officer Mark Church and the other 57 county elections officials have launched an effort that could be equally revolutionary, as it allows people to register to vote online.

Occupy Activists Attempt Another Shutdown of Davis Monsanto Plant Amid Campaign to End GMOs

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Last March, the threat of a protest by the Occupy movement caused the Davis Monsanto Plant to close its doors.  Now, beginning early this morning, protesters, led perhaps by Cindy Sheehan, will be back attempting to shut it down once again.

One of the organizers of the event, Steven Payan of Occupy Woodland, said in a release late Sunday, “This is about hundreds of thousands of lives lost, deformed from chemicals and mass pollution to [the] environment and a company allowed to get away with it because of government ties, and massive lobbying dollars.”

Governor Announces Compromise Deal on Public Pension Reform

Jerry-BrownCritics on Both Sides Blast the Deal which Rolls Back 3% at 50 But Only For New Employees

Governor Brown and Democratic leaders on Tuesday outlined their compromise proposal for what they are calling “a sweeping pension reform agreement that saves billions of taxpayer dollars by capping benefits, increasing the retirement age, stopping abusive practices and requiring state employees to pay at least half of their pension costs.”

“These reforms make fundamental changes that rein in costs and help to ensure that our public retirement system is sustainable for the long term. These reforms require sacrifice from public employees and represent a significant step forward,” said Governor Brown.

Bill Expanding Death Benefits for Public Safety Could Cripple Local Government

OvertimeWhile cities and local government attempt to dig themselves out of self-inflicted holes, the legislature is threatening to makes matters worse by extending the statute of limitations for a presumptive death benefit claim filed on behalf of firefighters or peace officers, at a detrimental fiscal consequence for employers.

AB 2451, sponsored by Speaker John Pérez would eliminate the 4 ½ year statute of limitations on work-related death benefits for public safety employees who die of diseases presumed by law to be job-related.  Opponents fear that there would be no limitation under the law “on the period of time between the employee’s exposure to and presumable death from heart disease, cancer, tuberculosis or blood borne pathogens.”

Field Poll Shows Voters Strongly Oppose Automatic Budget Cuts Should Tax Measure Fail

Jerry-BrownIf the governor’s tax measure does not pass this fall, local school districts like Davis figure to be hammered by automatic trigger cuts.  For Davis that means the loss of about 3.5 million dollars in funding which, combined with the expiration of Measure A and the increased costs of special education, puts Davis in a catastrophic hole at negative 7.5 million dollars.

A Field Poll released today shows that the voters are largely mixed on the latest round of state cuts, with 37 percent believing the cuts went too far, 28% that they did not go far enough and 24% believing they are just right.

No Agreement Yet on Pension Reform

pension-reform-stockAs local communities like Davis face devastating budget cuts, protracted labor strife, and even bankruptcy due to a retirement pension crisis, leaders in Sacramento are moving closer but have failed to reach an agreement on pension reform.

Last February the governor unveiled the statutory and constitutional language to implement the 12-point pension reform plan he presented last October.

Landmark Homeowner Protection Bill Passes the Legislature

foreclosure

In April, the Attorney General of California announced that a federal judge had signed off on a foreclosure settlement among banks, federal agencies and attorney generals from 49 states.

The attorney general identified deceptive practices regarding loan modifications, foreclosures occurring due to the servicer’s failure to properly process paperwork, and the use of incomplete paperwork to process foreclosures in both judicial and non-judicial foreclosure cases.

Yamada Bill on Ballot Arguments Moves Forward Over Objections From Granda

assemblymember-mariko-yamada

Jose Granda, the oft-times critic of the Davis School District, tried to take his fight to the legislature on Tuesday.  His target this time was legislation sponsored by Assemblymember Mariko Yamada, which would close loopholes that became evident during March’s parcel tax election.

AB 1626 has already unanimously passed in the Assembly, but it encountered some opposition on Tuesday in the Senate Elections & Constitutional Amendments Committee as it passed on a party-line, 3-2 vote.

Commentary: Actions by Trustees, Inactions by Sacramento Fuel Outrage of Students

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Long before the term “1%” was enshrined in the popular lexicon of the citizenry, California State Senator Leland Yee was fighting corruption, fighting for open government, and fighting against executive pay raises in institutions of higher education in California.

Given the lightning rod that has developed for student protests, one would think that more care would be taken.  But the lesson that we learned this week is that neither prudence nor decency seem to have a place when it comes to the decisions made by the CSU Trustees, who follow the actions of UC from late last fall.

Battle Over the Tax Measure Sees Governor Pitted Against Progressives

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In a meeting this week with the San Francisco Chronicle’s Editorial Board, Governor Brown threw down the gauntlet, arguing that his tax initiative was the only one that would solve the state’s fiscal crisis and increase funding to schools and higher education.

The Chronicle reported, “He said that one of the other tax proposals, known as the millionaires tax, might poll well because it would hit the wealthiest Californians and dedicate money almost exclusively to education, but that it fails to consider the effect of Proposition 98 – the state’s education funding guarantee – and amounts to ‘ballot-box budgeting’ that creates more problems than it solves.”

Commentary: Republicans and Democrats in California Take Turns Killing Themselves

sacramento-state-capitol

It has been a fascinating week in California politics.  We have a field poll release giving us interesting information about the state’s political landscape, and news at the end of the week suggesting Republicans are in denial while the Democrats are likely to eat themselves… again.

The Republicans scored political victory of sorts today when their referendum to overturn the newly re-drawn Senate districts qualified for the ballot on Friday.