Earlier this week we wrote about a committee hearing concerning a noxious bill. Later, a reader asked why we didn't oppose the bill during the hearing. The answer tells you a lot about when and how to offer resistance in Sacramento. The bill is sponsored by the chairman of the committee, which consists of five … Continue reading How To Play Defense
Category: Calls to Action – Citizens
Another Retroactive Pension Increase
Earlier this week we virtually attended a State Senate hearing about SB 868, a bill to provide a retroactive pension increase to some long-retired public employees. This isn't the first time lawmakers have considered a retroactive increase. As I explained in a Wall Street Journal op-ed in 2010, the last retroactive pension increase was the … Continue reading Another Retroactive Pension Increase
Tax Increases
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), one of the largest recipients of government spending in California, has been putting the following questionnaire in front of candidates for the legislature: Do you support increasing corporate taxes in order to strengthen and expand public services and create the conditions for all Californians to thrive? If so, please … Continue reading Tax Increases
Mental Health and Homelessness
Among the 2,167 bills we are reviewing are several dealing with mental health and homelessness. Recently the Newsom Administration issued a proposal to establish CARE (Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment) Courts “to deliver behavioral health services to severely ill and vulnerable individuals while preserving self determination and community living.” Yesterday we joined a webinar about … Continue reading Mental Health and Homelessness
Updated Tally: 2,115 Bills
One of our jobs each year is to review every bill and resist those not in the general interest. Legislators have submitted 2,115 bills so far this session. California suffers poor governance today because no one played our role yesterday. Eg, in 1999 the legislature passed SB 400, a retroactive pension increase. When asked years … Continue reading Updated Tally: 2,115 Bills
Endorsing Candidates
More than 30 open-seat races for the state legislature will be contested this year. Some of you have asked about our process for considering pre-election endorsements. First we ask ourselves what, if anything, we could gain by a pre-election endorsement. Often candidates have more to gain than we do from an endorsement and we are … Continue reading Endorsing Candidates
Sustaining Political Power
Three years ago, a California businessman/philanthropist who had spent $19 million to help elect charter-school-friendly state legislators asked me why so many of those he had helped to elect had joined in passing anti-charter legislation. I responded that they couldn’t count on him to be there for them. When it comes to political power, reliability … Continue reading Sustaining Political Power
Burying The Lede
We looked high and low for an article that exposed the poison pill buried in Section 100610 of AB 1400, a single-payer measure recently proposed and withdrawn in the California State Assembly, but found none. That’s worrisome. Typical single-payer systems are not governed by boards dominated by providers as called for by Section 100610, which … Continue reading Burying The Lede
Mispriced Political Security
The quality of government services in California declined because for decades there was little resistance in the legislature to special interests who profit from providing those services. That started to change in 2011 with the launch of GFC to support legislators who serve the general interest. Money plays an important role but is of little … Continue reading Mispriced Political Security
GFC’s 2022 Agenda
The CA Legislature reconvened this week and will spend the next nine months deliberating over thousands of bills and more than $300 billion of spending. GFC's 11-person Sacramento team is: Pressing for sufficient budget reserves and better value for spending on K-12, Medi-Cal, Corrections and Homelessness;Resisting tax increases and new privileges for special interests;Seeking a … Continue reading GFC’s 2022 Agenda