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California bullet train chief seeks environmental exemptions By Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times The chief of the state bullet train authority said Tuesday that he hopes to obtain some type of relief from environmental laws that would eliminate a risk that the 130-mile initial construction project could be stopped by an injunction, a potentially growing prospect as agriculture interests in the Central Valley gear up for a legal fight. At a state Senate hearing, Chairman Dan Richard also said the agency plans to spend the entire $6 billion of initial construction money within a 2017 deadline set by the federal government. In the past, Richard has insisted the California High-Speed Rail Authority would not seek an outright exemption from state or federal environmental laws, including the California Environmental Quality Act. At the hearing, Richard said that if the project ends up in a lawsuit he would hope the matter would involve mitigations rather than an injunction. |
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Election 2012
As the hapless GOP looks on, Democrats about to take 2/3rds majority in the State Legislature: California State Senate 25 Democrats 15 Republicans Dem's magic number is 27 California State Assembly 52 Democrats 28 Republicans Dem's magic number 54 "Can you say 'Higher Taxes'?"
Election rip-off: Feckless Republican games the system -- taxpayers foot the bill...GOP's Beth Gains does not deserve to be re-elected.
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Partners cozy up in the awarding of state hydrogen station grants "It's unprecedented for private companies to decide how state money is spent" By Thomas D. Elias, Los Angeles Daily News Millions of dollars in "hydrogen highway" grants by a state commission are drawing cries of favoritism and collusion. This is because they seem to guarantee that most refueling stations for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles -- due to hit the road between now and 2017 -- will be owned by two large companies closely aligned with auto manufacturers. Very quietly, the California Energy Commission is letting carmakers decide which proposals for building hydrogen stations get the grants, authorized by a law passed in 2007. Seven of the eight companies involved are foreign-owned. So far, virtually all grants have gone to two corporations that deal in industrial chemicals including liquefied and compressed natural gas, among other products: the German-based Linde Group and Pennsylvania-based Air Products and Chemicals Inc. Recent grants to set up stations range from $1.4 million to $2 million each. Meanwhile, at almost the same moment the Energy Commission gave preliminary approval for its most recent $23 million in grants to Linde and Air Products, the state Public Utilities Commission agreed to a lawsuit settlement with NRG Energy Inc. Since 2010, NRG has owned most assets of Dynegy Inc., one of the major electric generators that bilked California consumers out of about $10 billion during the energy crunch of 2000 and 2001. The settlement has NRG building $100 million worth of electric car recharging stations it will own, thus assuring it will be the biggest owner of such stations for years to come. Given that leg up for NRG, it will be difficult for smaller companies to compete, a problem also set up by the Energy Commission policy. Both Linde and Air Products are members of the California Fuel Cell Partnership, which promotes development of hydrogen cars. Others among the 32 partners include the Energy Commission and the eight carmakers -- Toyota, Daimler-Benz, GM, Nissan, Hyundai, Chrysler, Honda and Volkswagen. That means the commission and the automakers have steered virtually all grants to their own partners. The partnership says all members pay the same dues, but won't give an amount. The Energy Commission reports it paid $87,000 to belong to the partnership in 2012. In the Governor's office: Voter distrust will be a hurdle for Gov. Jerry Brown's tax plan By Judy Lin, Los Angeles Daily News Gov. Jerry Brown is pleading with Californians to raise their taxes as part of his solution for solving the state's budget deficit, but it's uncertain whether voters will be in an accepting mood come November. Polls show voters want more money for schools but don't want to tax themselves to pay for it. They continue to be pessimistic about the economy in a state with one of the highest jobless rates in the nation. And they distrust the Legislature, which oversees the budget. Brown is facing a tough environment after announcing over the weekend that the state's deficit had risen to $15.7 billion, much larger than he said a few months ago. On Tuesday, the Democratic governor defended his plan to raise the statewide sales tax and seek higher income taxes on the wealthy, warning of deep cuts that include a school year shortened by as much as three weeks if voters reject his taxes. He said it was not a scare tactic but rather the stark reality of a state that is not taking in enough tax revenue to cover its expenses. His administration projected that California's economy will continue to recover at a modest pace but housing and unemployment continue to be a drag.  More taxes will solve everything...Brown, in 'management mode,' chides those who oppose tax hikes on wealthy By Steven Harmon, San Jose Mercury News A day after releasing a revised budget that relies heavily on revenues from his not-yet-passed tax initiative, Gov. Jerry Brown chided those who oppose boosting taxes on the wealthy. The governor said he was in "management mode," as in managing Democrats into making $8.3 billion in budget cuts to help wrestle a $15.7 billion deficit to the ground. But he sure sounded as if he was in campaign mode as he tried to sell his tax measure to a crime victims' group Tuesday morning. The governor said if people were offered a chance to make $1 million a year -- even though they'd have to pay a 3 percent tax on any money made on top of that -- "would anybody say, 'I don't want that deal?' No. No. It's a pretty good deal." Someone making $1.1 million would have to pay an extra $3,000 in taxes, which are deductible from federal taxes, Brown noted. Brown's tax measure, which will be on the November ballot once 800,000-plus signatures are verified by county election officials, would raise income taxes on joint filers who make $500,000 or more. It would also increase the sales tax a quarter of a cent. To sell the initiative, he needs the cooperation of legislative Democrats, who are cool to many of the deep social-service cuts Brown has proposed. Brown stymied by same budget dysfunction that plagued predecessors By Nicholas Riccardi and Chris Megerian, Los Angeles Times Jerry Brown told voters he was different — that only he, a septuagenarian government veteran with no aspirations to higher office, could fix the cycle of swelling budget deficits that has plagued California for more than a decade. But the release of Brown's updated budget plan Monday shows that he is being trapped by the same partisanship and dysfunction that hobbled his predecessors when they tried to repair the state's finances. "No governor, under the system we have in California, really has the ability to deal with the mess we've created," said Mark Paul, a former deputy state treasurer and the coauthor of a book about the state's financial quandary. "This is the third governor in a row who has run up against the same problem." Brown is stuck between Republicans who refuse tax hikes, Democrats who resist cuts and a tangle of special interests and voter-mandated budget requirements that make it politically easier to push the problem down the road. That's what Brown has started to do.  Brown defended recent decisions to defer some permanent cuts in hope of an economic turnaround. In the Legislature: After screwing people out of their homes and raking in obscene profits... California bankers say mortgage proposals too strict By Andrew Edwards, San Bernardino County Sun Banking executives warned California legislators Tuesday that some provisions of a proposed "Homeowners Bill of Rights" may create a wave of frivolous lawsuits and slow the recovery of the state's housing market. The bankers and other industry representatives spoke in Sacramento before a special panel of lawmakers assigned to craft new mortgage and foreclosure laws. They told lawmakers they are open to some reforms, such as policies favoring a single point of contact for homeowners navigating loan workouts. The bankers, however, maintained a united front against the possibility that new legislation may give homeowners a right to sue banks who fail to meet new standards. Taken together, their testimony centered on concerns that stricter laws may swamp banks with lawsuits, delay legitimate foreclosures and create a difficult layer of new regulations. Speakers also said stricter laws make it harder for many Californians to buy a home because banks would adjust to the threat of litigation by tightening lending standards. Campaign and election news:  Assessor corruption probe widening, indictments expected, D.A. saysBy Jack Dolan and Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley said Tuesday that the corruption investigation of Assessor John Noguez has grown to include multiple targets and that he intends to seek grand jury indictments in the near future. In his first public comments about the expanding criminal probe, Cooley also accused the union that represents assessor's office employees of interfering with the investigation by ordering members to refuse to cooperate without permission from Noguez's office. "They're telling potential witnesses that, until they get permission from the No. 1 target, they can't talk," said Cooley, waving a copy of the memo at a conference table in his office. He added that whoever issued the order will probably be the first person summoned to testify under oath in front of the grand jury. The investigation, which began last year, has centered on tax breaks allegedly extended to Noguez campaign contributors and would-be contributors. Property tax bills are based on assessed values, which are determined by Noguez's staff. A lower assessed value means a lower tax bill. Trutanich campaign knew personnel file was missing 3 years ago By Jack Leonard, Los Angeles Times The allegation was serious: Someone might be playing politics with Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich's personnel file from his days as a county prosecutor. Trutanich, who is campaigning to become the next district attorney, complained to state authorities last week that his file was missing and asked for an investigation into "suspicious political activity" in the district attorney's office. In his letter to the attorney general's office, Trutanich noted that Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley had endorsed another candidate to succeed him, and Trutanich raised the "possibility that records have been removed, tampered with or stolen in the course of a political campaign." But Trutanich's letter never mentioned that his campaign was told more than three years earlier that the district attorney's office did not have his file — at a time when Cooley was supporting his successful bid for city attorney. Law and the courts: Lawsuit takes aim at California's legal protections for teachers By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times A Bay Area nonprofit backed partly by groups known for battling teachers unions has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn five California laws that, they say, make it too difficult to dismiss ineffective teachers. The suit, filed on behalf of eight students, takes aim at California laws that govern teacher tenure rules, seniority protections and the teacher dismissal process. "A handful of outdated laws passed by the California Legislature are preventing school administrators from maintaining or improving the quality of our public educational system," according to the lawsuit, which was filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court and announced Tuesday. The group behind the legal action is the newly formed Students Matter. The founder is Silicon Valley entrepreneur David F. Welch and the group's funders include the foundation of L.A. philanthropist Eli Broad. The suit contends that teachers can earn tenure protections too quickly — in two years — well before their fitness for long-term employment can be determined. The suit also seeks to invalidate the practice of first laying off less experienced teachers during a budget crisis, rather than keeping the best teachers. And it takes aim at a dismissal process that, it alleges, is too costly, too lengthy and typically results in ineffective teachers holding on to jobs. Around the state:
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Democrats jeopardize $1.3 billion in federal funds By Katy Grimes, CalWatchDog It appears that Democrats aren’t really sincere or even serious about working toward solutions that will actually help California solve the economic crisis in the state. Last week, Democrats voted against a smart consolidation program which would have provided an additional $1.3 billion to the state. After Gov. Jerry Brown announced Monday that California’s budget deficit has grown to nearly $16 billion, astoundingly higher than the $9 billion deficit amount announced in January, one would assume that every California politician would be looking under every rock for money to shore-up the debt. Apparently politics trumps economic stability. Pension deniers attempt to shame reform advocates By Brian Calle, CalWatchDog If you have not read or heard anything about California’s unfunded public employee pension crisis, you’ve probably been living under a rock or, like union bosses and too many members of the state Legislature, the governor’s office and local elected officials, you are happily in denial. Instead of denying the flood of economic problems looming because of pensions, it’s time to face the facts and fix the problem. Lawmakers might end ADA lawsuit binge By FRANK MICKADEIT, Orange County Register The insane law that has allowed a small number of disabled individuals and their lawyers to shake down mom-and-pop businesses over Americans with Disability Act claims is getting attention in Sacramento. California law allows disabled persons to get $4,000 in damages (plus legal fees) every time they visit a business with an ADA problem. It is the only state that awards a plaintiff a set amount. In other states, courts will order a business to comply with the ADA, or they might award money damages for actual injury. California has 12 percent of the U.S. population but 40 percent of ADA lawsuits. California politicians bet big By Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee Poker players often use the phrase "betting on the come" to describe a willingness, if instincts and odds indicate, to wager big on the hope that they will draw winning cards. That's a perfectly valid tactic when one is playing with one's own money and therefore bearing the risk. But is it appropriate for California politicians to bet on the come by approving many billions of dollars in spending on very shaky assumptions that the money will be there when it's needed to pay the bills? California voters and those they elect to office have a history of spending first and worrying later about how to pay the bills, which is how the state got into this fiscal mess in the first place. |
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Sacramento Update Washington
D.C. Update
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