A weekly update on the goings-on in Sacramento
For the week ending February 16, 2008
Key bills and issues we’ve been following during the
Past week and beyond
With the presidential primaries focused on other states and the Term-Limits initiative dead and gone, Sacramento has returned to “normal”, with small matters like the budget and legislative leadership supplanting the posturing and promoting that naturally accompanies electoral politicking. However, with the huge vacuum in Sacramento leadership created by the failure of Prop. 93, politicking has, instead, gone into over-drive. Don Perata and Fabian Nunez are now officially lame-duck leaders. In the world of power and leadership, this situation befits the old adage, “The King is dead, long live the King”, meaning those seeking the crowns of leadership haven’t even waited for the bodies to get cold before scurrying to pick up the scepter.
The fallout from Prop 93’s failure has been quite different in the Senate and Assembly. The Senate quickly filled the power void by announcing that Darrell Steinberg would replace current President Pro Tem Don Perata, most likely in August after the budget is completed. The transfer of power will be smooth and dignified. “Good guy” Darrell Steinberg’s big job now is to persuade the political pundits that he’s not quite so nice and thus capable of doing the heavy-lifting required of the position. After all the mud that has been slung at the current senate leadership, this is an enviable “problem” to be sure.
In the lower house, an entirely different story emerges. While Fabian Nunez has apparently secured his control until after the budget battle, the internal battle over who will succeed him has taken on an entirely different and new dynamic. With no clear successor and no timeline for that succession, the battle has taken on both a full-blown and public persona. Several assemblymembers have announced their candidacies and done so with press releases and even blogger interviews, along with traditional mainstream interviews and events.
In the past, the battle for internal control over leadership has taken place in relative private, with self-selected candidates going member to member to shore up support. This has traditionally been about relationships and a determination as to which emerging candidate can best fill the primary functions of a speaker which are to raise money and protect his/her majority in upcoming elections. With pretty much all of tradition and history thrown out with term-limits, the face of this process has changed dramatically, and the battle has become both public and highly politicized. While all this makes for great copy, just how this improves the process has yet to be seen. Currently there are at least six to nine announced candidates for the position, with no one having a straight shot to the title at this moment. This will be interesting to watch as the rest of the “conventional wisdom” about who, why and how the speaker is chosen will be up-for-grabs as well. While arguably historic in its unique selection process, it may also signal the selection of the first woman speaker in our state’s history. More on this as it evolves.
If you like the work we’ve been doing at Speak Out California, with our regular weekly updates which provide inside commentary and analysis on what is going on in our state capital, we hope you’ll support our work by making a contribution to Speak Out California. To contribute, just click here for our website so we can keep providing this unique and important perspective on our state and its future.
At Speak Out California we provide the facts and the commentary that keeps you informed on what is really happening in our state. We don’t accept any advertising or corporate sponsorships, so you know that we are not beholden to any group or special interest. Our commitment is simply to provide uncompromising reporting and analysis of what is happening in our state from the progressive perspective.
If you can pledge $10, $25, $50 a month, or send us a one-time contribution, we can continue to keep you in-the-know and keep the progressive voice alive and growing in California.
Just click here for our website to support our work in keeping California’s progressive voice strong!

The budget battle in a sinking economy
As required by the Governor’s call for a special session of the legislature to deal with the enormous and ever-growing budget deficit, the legislature made its first round of cuts this past week, which the Governor signed into law on Saturday, February 16th. A total of $2 billion was made in cuts and accounting maneuvers that will be a start on trying to put the out-of-whack budget back into shape. But at a staggering $14-15 billion hole, this is going to be both painful and difficult, at best.
The Governor has proposed a 10% across-the-board set of cuts which has just about everyone hollering. Deep cuts in education, early release of prisoners, further reduction in welfare assistance, reduced payment to healthcare providers of the poor and closure of state parks are among those whose ox is being gored the most significantly under this plan. But it’s all part of the political play that the Reps won’t consider any kind of tax increases or closure of loopholes for the mega-rich or multi-national corporations who feed off the State’s trough but won’t pay for the privilege. So while we wait for the game of chicken to unfold, this past week the legislature did the following:
-Removed $506 million that was promised to school districts for the current fiscal year;
-Reduced reimbursement rates for doctors who provide health care to the poor by yet another 10% (consistent with the trend of cutting rates for those who provide services to those otherwise unable to obtain them) and thus expecting a savings of an additional $1 billion;
-Approved borrowing an additional $3.3 billion from previously authorized but unused bond monies;
-Delayed $1.5 billion in debt service payments .
Critics of the plan claim it is just more smoke-and-mirrors, without making the really hard choices that will inevitably be forthcoming. For more discussion, check out the articles from the LA Times and the Sacbee.
Protecting those important yacht owners
While the poor, their doctors and our children are taking a bath because of the budget crisis, the Assembly Republicans continue to hold firm on protecting the rights of the ultra-rich to avoid paying taxes on the purchase of their yachts and airplanes. As hard as it is to believe, with the question of prisoners getting out of jail early, our children foregoing resources for their education and other important needs being reduced, it was impossible to pass legislation this week that would have closed a glaring and audacious loop-hole that protects those with enough money to buy yachts from paying taxes on those kinds of purchases. So while we’re battling over the needs of the very neediest, those who clearly want for nothing continue to get whatever they want.
For a look at this story in the context of what others are being forced to give up, click here for the Ventura County Star article.
To resolve the State’s chronic budget mess, true leadership is going to have to emerge from both the Governor’s office and the legislature. It’s going to hurt, and it’s going to have to be spread around. While the Reps are adamant that there should be no tax increases, there is no question that if our state is going to survive and flourish and give real meaning to the hopes and aspirations of the next generations, everything must be open for discussion. This is where real leadership begins. It will be interesting to see if there is the will in Sacramento- and the toughness of the people of California to rethink who we want to be as a people and in what direction we want to take our state.
For an interesting take on whether our governor has what it takes, click here for Dan Walter’s view in today’s Sac Bee and for an honest discussion of what those tough choices and policy changes might include, click here for this week’s blog offerings.
Interesting legislation introduced this week– healthcare/insurance abuses
The health insurance industry seems to become more audacious with each passing day. Maybe it’s because the Governor’s health care “reform package” failed, or that they’ve become so arrogant that they don’t think anyone is paying attention. Whatever the motivation, a bill has been introduced by Assemblyman Hector De La Torre which is designed to require state regulators to sign off before carriers are allowed to drop policyholders for allegedly failing to disclose preexisting medical conditions.
This measure is in response to recent letters from Blue Cross to physicians asking them to squeal on their patients in order to let Blue Cross cancel coverage. While weeding out fraud is one thing, insurers in California have become increasingly aggressive in trying to cancel individual policy holders after they’ve filed claims. This bill would put a stop to unilateral and often improper “rescission” of policies. For more on this click here for the LA Times article.
Keeping closer tabs on California’s politicos
So much has been said and made of the way our politicians spend campaign money. As a result, the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) has imposed new rules on politicians which will require they explain in greater detail what they do with their campaign dollars. Under these new regulations, elected officials will have to name gift recipients and describe the nature of the gifts they give. They will also be required to provide the dates and destinations of out-of-state travel and disclose whether any family members rode on the campaign dollar dole as well. Most importantly for the public’s otherwise skeptical nature of politicians and their funds, the rules will require that politicians, “briefly describe the political, legislative or governmental purpose of the expenditure.” While watchdog groups want the rules to go even further, this is considered a significant start.
From a good-government perspective, these requirements are long-overdue. For too long, a skeptical public has looked at politicians as getting wealthy off the public trough. Whether rightly or wrongly, the more we can do to close these loopholes and reinstate some sense of trust and confidence in our elected officials, the better it portends for democracy as a whole. For more on this story, click here for the LA Times article.
If you like the work we’ve been doing at Speak Out California, with our regular weekly updates which provide inside commentary and analysis on what is going on in our state capital, we hope you’ll support our work by making a contribution to Speak Out California. To contribute, just click here for our website so we can keep providing this unique and important perspective on our state and its future.
At Speak Out California we provide the facts and the commentary that keeps you informed on what is really happening in our state. We don’t accept any advertising or corporate sponsorships, so you know that we are not beholden to any group or special interest. Our commitment is simply to provide uncompromising reporting and analysis of what is happening in our state from the progressive perspective.
If you can pledge $10, $25, $50 a month, or send us a one-time contribution, we can continue to keep you in-the-know and keep the progressive voice alive and growing in California.
Just click here for our website to support our work in keeping California’s progressive voice strong!
The Rest of the Story
Our blogging offerings for the week:
The theme of our blogs this week is whether there is any political courage to take on the “third-rail” in California politics in order to address the fundamental flaws in the policies and politics of our state today. Whether it’s rethinking and tweaking Prop 13 or trying to get a handle on the real impacts of immigration on our state’s economy and infra-structure, Senior Blogger Dave Johnson offers some interesting perspectives on the topics.
Political Suicide I — Talking about reforming Prop 13
Political Suicide II — Talking about immigration reform
To read and comment on these entries just go to: www.speakoutca.org/weblog/
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Until next week,
Hannah-Beth Jackson and the Speak Out California Team