AB 656, authored by Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico, would have established an oil and gas severance tax (California being the only oil and gas producing state in the union not having one) and earmarked the proceeds for puiblic higher education, giving our universities a financial base upon which to operate and easing the burden on the general fund.

On Thursday, the Assembly Appropriations Committee took action on it that essentially defeats the bill for this legislative cycle. The committee deleted the oil and gas severance tax portion of the bill and replaced it with a simple reporting requirement. The amendments require the state Board of Equalization to annually report to the legislature the amount of revenue that would be generated for public higher education if the oil and gas tax was implemented.

Maybe it can be resurrected as we get closer to trying to deal with this year’s budget problems, especially since the Governor has placed a high priority on helping the CSU’s and UC’s recoup some of their cuts.  This could be the way top offset the Governor’s political shenanigans of trying to play off higher education unions against the prison unions.  

(more thoughts on changes to the constitution. – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

If we are going to have a constitutional convention, I do not think we should be timid in our ideas for reforming and restructuring the state.  I know many want to limit the convention because they fear there will be ideas adopted which do not fit into a progressive ideology,  But I don’t think we should approach this with fear, but with a real view for a total restructuring of the state government.  I believe we should think outside the box, even way outside the box and be willing to not only look at reforming such things as the 2/3’s vote requirement, but go for the guts of how this state is run.

If we think outside the box, we can get some real reform, not just piecemeal tinkering.

Here are some of my thoughts.

1. A unicameral legislature.  Since the one-man, one-vote ruling of the US Supreme Court, the two houses are superfluous.  They do not even do well as checking each other.  They are simply two places to have the same argument.  A single house with 100 members or so is adequate.

2. Eliminate counties.  Those services which counties provide such as children services, health services, etc. can be provided by regional agencies, similar to transportation agencies.  Law enforcement and emergency services can be done through joint power authorities. The courts should be run by the state.  For municipal services (land use, building codes, etc.) in unincorporated areas can be handled by municipal service districts.

3. With the exception of school districts, eliminate all special districts.  Few, if any of them, are supported by local property taxes anymore, but are mainly funded by fees.  This has untethered them from local voters/property owners.  Let the state or regional agencies handle them.

4. Significantly reduce the power of Sacramento in the operations of local school districts.  Let the school districts run far more autonomously, like cities do.  The Education Code should read more like the provisions of the government code that relate to cities.

5. Require all school districts to be K-12 districts.

6. Change community colleges from local districts and make them a statewide system, like the UC’s and the Cal States.  This is more in keeping with the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education.

7. Return the initiative and referendum process to its original intent by simply making it illegal to pay or compensate anyone in any way to gather signatures.

8. No matter what is done to the sales tax after the Parsky Commission proposals are debated, eliminate the municipal share of the sales tax or the NBRT tax (assuming the cities would get part of this if it is adopted and the sales tax eliminated).  Give the cities a share of the income tax paid to employees in their jurisdictions.  Right now the billions spend each year by redevelopment agencies is sued primarily to subsidize retailers to get the sales tax.  If the cities get a share of the income tax, these billions will be spent subsidizing jobs and employment.  

9. Eliminate all previously approved voter budget directives from the Constitution.  Prohibit the ability of the voters to include such directives in the Constitution in the future.