(Please welcome Assemblymember Ted Lieu to Calitics. UPDATE: Ted had to run to the floor for a vote but he will come back at some point to respond to any questions he missed. – promoted by David Dayen)
I want to thank Calitics and the community for this opportunity to interact and discuss some of the most pressing challenges facing us today. As some of you may be aware, I authored the California Foreclosure Prevention Act, which passed the legislature and was signed into law despite massive Wall Street opposition. I would be happy to discuss the mortgage and foreclosure crisis and any other issues you have.
UPDATE: It is 12:25 pm and I need to go to the floor of the Assembly now. Thank you very much for your great questions. I really appreciate the public service Calitics provides in disseminating vital, timely, and Democratic information to our residents in the greatest state on earth.
We’ll start with a question from Curtis L. Walker: “What progress has been made concerning the 105% maximum to qualify for the housing/foreclosure relief that is crippled for CALIFORNIA due to the large percentage of current value vs money owed on home. Most or many, not sure, are not helped for the National Obama Homeowner Relief Plan. Can you bring us up to date?
DO you think California’s budget crisis is primarily a cause of reckless spending or insufficient taxes?
If the former, what spending should be cut?
If the latter, who should have to pay more taxes, and how uch?
Jackfolsum: I used to live in your district and I recall getting mail from you regarding your efforts to advance the concept of building “green.”. I haven’t kept up with this and wanted to know what is happening on that front and what else you are working on to promote energy efficiency.
Thanks!
From OC Progressive:
Robert in Monterey: I’m curious whether you support a repeal of the 2/3 rule for both budgets and taxes, lowering it to a simple majority standard and eliminating the undemocratic conservative veto?
the death penalty?
The Supreme Court recently overruled a La. Law that left the option of the death penalty for child rapists. Do you support or oppose that?
from Robert in Monterey: Will you fight to restore the destructive and economy-wrecking elimination of state funding for local transit agencies? Will you fight to ensure that none of the 26,000 teachers who received pink slips will actually be laid off?
While the media and much public attention has been focusing on the foreclosure and banking crisis’ – not enough attention has been given to it’s repercussions in first, the rental markets and second, the low-income housing tax credits markets.
First, given that many of the families impacted by foresclosures will inevitably become renters – this will only add additional pressure on the rental market driving housing costs up. What remedies do you forsee can help ease the higher costs in rental housing?
Secondly, given that banks – usually one of the biggest purchasers of low-income housing tax credits – cannot maintain their historical role given their current struggles; how can the State Legislature help to insure a healthy market for the credits. Tax credits are one of the largest sources of financing for affordable home builders to construct homes – a weak market inevitably hurts affordable home construction hurting low-to-moderate income families.
Assemblyman,
I participated in the state task force that AB1061 addresses.
Our original task force recommendation included California native plants and also attempted to prevent local governments from using code enforcement from preventing well-maintained native or drought-tolerant landscapes.
Now, we would probably be adding food production to any legislation, with the idea that our precious California soil should not be used solely for lawn-farming, a process where we water, irrigate, fertilize, and add pest and weed killer to a crop of lawn grass that we harvest every week – only to throw away.
Would you be willing to expand this legislation, or carry additional legislation which would ensure that we use water wisely, either for food or habitat, rather than to perpetuate some esthetic standard totally inappropriate for our climate?
The South Bay has produced two of our best constitutional officers, John Chiang and Deborah Bowen, both of whom really felt a mission for their respective positions.
How do they see your candidacy?
Ted Lieu:
those facing foreclosure are still better off than us who never dare to dream a house. For at least they had been capable to buy a house.
But for us, whose salary is no more than $2000 a month, we even dare not to have a dream of buying a house all our lives. So where is our American Dream?
And how you can help us to be able to buy a house before we end our lives? forget about those who already have a house facing forclosure for the timebeing. they are still far better off than us.
You know the proverb:”the camel died of starving is still bigger than a horse”?
Similar to the camel proverb, there still:
A dying GM is still rich enough to take airplane to washington to beg money…
A closing AIG is still well enough to share annual bonus with the money begged from Obama.
Assemblyman Lieu,
What are your thoughts on the Attorney General’s office’s position on same-sex marriage. As you know, the AG’s office opposed The City and County of San Francisco when it issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2004. The office ultimately lost this battle when the Supreme Court sided with San Francisco and held that California’s constitution mandated that same-sex couples be allowed to marry.
Following Proposition 8 AG Brown initially sided with the proponents of Prop 8 and said that he would defend the new law. Later, of course, he flipped and argued to the Supreme Court that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional and should be overturned.
First, where do you stand on these issues. Second, what are your thoughts of the seemingly opposing positions that the AG’s office has taken over the last five years?
Thanks for making yourself available to questions in this forum!
in custody suspected of committing a felony have their immigration status checked while in state or local prisons?
Assemblyman Portantino has introduced AB 78, which would ease restrictions against middle- and high-school students who wish to get ahead by taking classes at their local community college.
This is essentially the same as AB 1409, which he introduced in the last session. AB 1409 was amended six times to the point where it would have basically established a trial period for expanded concurrent enrollment opportunities before dying in a Senate committee.
Where do you stand on AB 78 and concurrent enrollment for middle- and high-school students in both community colleges and the UC and CSU systems? More generally, where do you stand on encouraging single-subject or even whole-grade acceleration?