All posts by Brian Leubitz

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Republicans: Against the Will of the People

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A while back, we talked about the Republicans failure to be pragmatic?  Well, how’s this for pragmatic…even if they get what they want, they won’t put taxes on the ballot:

Senate Republicans have no interest now in providing votes to put Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed tax increase extensions before voters, even if Democrats agree to overhaul the state’s pension system and enact a spending cap, the Senate’s top Republican said Wednesday.

Sen. Bob Dutton of Rancho Cucamonga, in an interview with The Bee Capitol Bureau, said Democrats should prepare an all-cuts budget to erase the $26.6 billion budget deficit. He said Republicans may or may not provide votes for that approach.

“They really don’t need us to govern at all,” Dutton said of the Democrats who control both legislative houses and can make cuts by majority vote. “They just need us if they want to raise taxes.”

Dutton said the “day of reckoning” has come to California after repeated budget deficits.(SacBee)

We’ve already seen what a no-taxes budget looks like, and frankly, there is no way that the California electorate would support it.  So, hey, maybe he should just get the votes to put that on the ballot.  See how the voters of of California take to massive cuts to K-12 spending.

Of course, there are other ways to get these measures on the ballot. They aren’t necessarily attractive, but at this point, it’s hard to see how else the state functions.  The Republicans, of their own acknowledgement, have no serious interest in seeing anything other than the downfall of this state.

Maybe it is time to ramp up that split the state talk…

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Leno Calls Bullshit

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Mark Leno, the Senate Budget Committee Chairman, called out Republicans today on the anti-tax pledge:

Sen. Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, vice chairman of the Senate budget committee, said it was unfair that Republicans had to vote on cuts without knowing what other ideas Democrats are working on.

That prompted a sharp response from Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, chairman of the committee. He suggested that Republicans face no choice but to vote for all of Brown’s cuts since most GOP legislators have signed no-tax pledges.

“It’s second grade math, balancing this budget,” Leno said. “It’s addition and subtraction. You’ve already taken addition off the table, so it’s actually a given that you’re going to accept every one of the cuts.”

“But we, because we are not signing pledges taking either addition or subtraction off the table, are here to massage this and see how we can soften some of the edges,” he added. “You don’t have that option because you abrogated that opportunity before you even got here.”(SacBee)

Aww, it must be hard to not be informed what cuts they are going to vote on. On the flip side, they still have yet to actually propose any cuts, so there’s that.

On the more practical side, Sen. Leno and his colleagues concurred with the Governor on most of his cuts.  However, they did block a couple. Most notably, they killed the proposal to cap Medi-Cal patients at 10 appointments per year.

Marriage Equality

California Supreme Court Accepts Question, Arguments Set for September

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Yeah, you heard that right. September 2011.  So, we’ll be waiting for a while. Here’s what the Court said:

 The request, pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 8.548, that this court decide a question of California law presented in a matter pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, is granted. For the purposes of briefing and oral argument, defendant-intervenors Dennis Hollingsworth, Gail J. Knight, Martin F. Gutierrez, Mark A. Jansson, and ProtectMarriage.com (collectively “Proponents”) are deemed the petitioners in this court. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.520(a)(6).) In order to facilitate expedited consideration and resolution of the issues presented, and to accommodate oral argument in this matter as early as September, 2011, the normal briefing schedule is shortened, pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 8.68, as follows: The opening brief on the merits is to be served and filed on or before Monday, March 14, 2011. The answer brief on the merits is to be served and filed on or before Monday, April 4. A reply brief may be served and filed on or before Monday, April 18. Any person or entity wishing to file an amicus curiae brief must file an application for permission to file such brief, accompanied by the proposed brief, on or before Monday, May 2, 2011. Any party may serve and file an omnibus reply to any or all amicus curiae briefs on or before Monday, May 9, 2011. The court does not contemplate any extension of the above deadlines. Votes: Cantil-Sakauye, C.J., Kennard, Baxter, Werdegar, Chin, Moreno, and Corrigan, JJ.

We will likely have a decision by the end of the year on standing.  If the Supreme Court rules that the proponents have standing, then we’ll be talking about another few months.  If they say there isn’t standing, then in all likelihood Judge Walker’s decision will stand for California.

I’ll save you from another discussion of the general standing question, as there are many such blog posts around the internet, some of which I’ve written myself. Just google “Prop 8 standing” for more information, and you’ll be flooded with information.

The Courage Campaign launched a campaign asking same-sex couples who are waiting to tell their stories.  You can find more info about that here.

One final comment.  The continued dragging on of this case means that real families are still denied equal rights.  It is a tragedy and a travesty. I’m a political hack, but at some point, we need to win this one at the ballot.

Marriage Equality

California Supreme Court to Announce Something on Prop 8 Today?

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It’s been quiet for a while in the Prop 8 federal litigation, but today might bring some changes on that front. According to the LA Times (h/t Prop 8 Trial Tracker), the California Supreme Court will decide whether they will respond to the question that the 9th Circuit certified to them:

The California Supreme Court will decide Wednesday whether to plunge back into the legal battle over same-sex marriage.

The state high court, meeting in closed session, will review a request by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to determine whether Proposition 8’s sponsors have legal authority to defend the ballot measure. (LAT)

The 9th Circuit asked the California Supreme Court a question of state law, basically whether the proponents of a ballot measure have any special standing to defend the measure they helped to pass.  The question has always been somewhat murky, both at the state and federal levels.  A response on this question could have some pretty far-ranging impacts beyond the Prop 8 litigation.

But for now, we’ll just wait and see.

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Election Day in SD-17 and SD-28

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UPDATE: Well, it looks like we went 1 for 2.  Sharon Runner defeated Darren Parker, but Ted Lieu was also able to pull off the 50% threshold.  We should be seeing both Runner and Lieu in the Senate shortly.

If you happen to live in either SD-17 or SD-28 it’s an election day today!  In the 17th district, CDP African-American caucus chair faces off one-on-one with Sharon Runner.  The winner will receive more than 50%+1, so they will be ready to take their seat right after the election is certified.  

Darren is an extremely dedicated and hard working leader.  He helped out on the Kamala Harris campaign, and was an extremely passionate contributor.  He is a fantastic alternative to the Runner dynasty.

In the 28th, Ted Lieu is facing off with a slew of Republicans, a Democrat and a few others.  The big challenge in this race is for Lieu to get to that magical 50%+1 so that he can take the seat right away. If he does, he will be able to get to vote on Jerry Brown’s budget, which he supports.

Lieu has been a fighter, particularly on mortgage issues.  While I haven’t always agreed with him, particularly with his positions on prison reform, he would be an asset to the Senate.  He is a very sharp and intelligent legislator.

So, if you are in the districts…VOTE! You can get the results here when the polls close.

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Prop 11 Commission Tries To Pick a Consultant

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When Proposition 11 was passed more than two years ago, I was worried that it was so complicated and convoluted that it was inevitable that the lines would end up going to court and be drawn by judges not the commission.  Well the good news is the Commission did get through the Rube Goldberg selection process and is up and running and working very hard to organize itself to adopt maps by the rapidly approaching August 15th deadline.

The bad news is our Republican friends have already launched a concerted effort to blow up the process and make sure the Commission has no chance of finishing their work on time.

What is their latest complaint?  Well apparently they have a problem with the fact the Commission is considering hiring Karin MacDonald, the Director of the non-partisan Statewide Database (swdb.berkeley.edu).  They say Mac Donald is a Democratic operative.  Of course facts are always secondary to their arguments.  In truth, MacDonald is a registered Decline to State, has never done work for Democratic campaigns and rather has worked on a series of other independent redistricting commissions including one in my home town of San Francisco.

Of course they also leave out the fact that who they prefer really is a political operative: A Republican political operative.  They are pushing Doug Johnson who used to work for Republican Congressmember Steve Horn.  Hopefully the commissioners, Democrats, Republicans and Others, will see through this hypocrisy and make decisions based on what is fair, not who complains the most.  If not, I’m afraid my worries of two years ago will be proven all too prophetic.

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A Late June Election Timetable?

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While both Debra Bowen and Janice Hahn have announced that they are in the race to replace Jane Harman, she still hasn’t officially resigned.  Why? Well, here’s the thing.  The election would be tentatively scheduled for the time right around when Jerry Brown wants to hold his statewide special election on the budget.

As soon as Jane Harman officially resigns from the House, Brown has to peg an election date.  While there is not necessarily a requirement that this special be tied in to the statewide special, it certainly would make sense.  And if he is already stuck to a date for the special, it cuts down on his wiggle room with the Legislature.

it is rather odd how this is playing out, with a special in one Congressional district possibly affecting the statwide special, but this very well could happen.  And 1/53 of the state might have the power to set the date for the rest of the state.  So, if you are in the 36th, congrats on your new found power.

While Harman has been pretty flexible on her resignation date, apparently she really wants to move on by the end of February, so we should hear some news about the setting of a date by mid-March.  Given the timeline from there on out, and a June election would fit in there well.

Of course, for the people of the 36th, they are likely to be out of a Congressional member until late summer.  With two strong Democrats and a likely significant Republican presence, any candidate getting 50% becomes rather unlikely.

Ah, fun election games!

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CA-36: Bowen to Enter Race to Replace Harman

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Debra Bowen, our outstanding Secretary of State, will, according to Politico, soon make it official:

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen will announce Tuesday that she is joining the race to succeed former Democratic Rep. Jane Harman, according to a source close to Bowen. (Politico)

To be honest, I can’t imagine anybody that would be a better advocate for her community and all of California. However, that being said, Janice Hahn, the generally liked LA City Council member, already has the endorsement of some heavy hitters, including Dianne Feinstein, and has always been a pretty good fundraiser.  Bowen, on the other hand, has never been known as a powerhouse on the campaign cash side of things.  Either way, it should be a very interesting race.

Debra Bowen has been an outstanding friend to the netroots, but I’m interested in what others are thinking.

Budget

Grim vs. Grimmer: LAO’s Predicted Cuts if Taxes Fail

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The radical anti tax movement has put up some bold suggestions in the past two months as Jerry Brown’s budget has proceeded through the system.  First they flat out refused to allow any tax measures. Then they wanted a tax cuts along side Brown’s measures, an entirely unworkable proposal.  But the one thing they haven’t suggested?

A balanced budget.  As of right now, all they have done is complain about potential taxes, without doing any of the difficult work of identifying the cuts that would allow us to work through without increases.  

Fortunately, the Legislative Analyst’s office (LAO), at the request of Senate Democratic leadership, has done some of that work for them.  The Bee got a copy of it, and boy, is this ugly:

As was expected, the alternatives are grim – $4.5 billion less for K-12 schools than Brown proposed, as well as a $1.7 billion reduction to universities and community colleges. The Analyst’s Office also laid out $2.6 billion in cuts to corrections and courts, $1.2 billion in health and social services reductions, $1.8 billion in cuts to “general” state and local government operations and $1.7 billion in cuts to transportation and resources.(SacBee)

Now, these aren’t necessarily LAO recommendations, but rather just possible suggestions that would be doable under current law.  If you drill down further, the cuts are, as expected, most painful for those that need it the most.  Tuition at UC and CSU would go up another 7-10%, CalWorks eligibility would be decreased, and larger class sizes would just be a few of the potential cuts.  For the business folks, there’s the suggest cut that would axe the small business loan guarantee program.  Oh, and for those living out in wildfire country, the State would say that you are pretty much on your own.

These are all pretty hypothetical at this point, but if we don’t pass some sort of additional revenue, the consequences will be pretty dire one way or another.

Budget

The Obama Budget and California

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While most of the talk around these parts has been about the state budget, the federal budget fight is heating up.  And, as you would expect, that’s going to put a few wrinkles in the plan.  Namely, with additional cuts to states likely, how much will the federal cuts hit California.  Capitol Alert has some of the first word from the President’s budget released today:

The Obama administration’s $3.7 trillion budget proposal unveiled Monday includes myriad cuts for California programs. It also includes some increased funding for Sacramento-area flood control projects.

Obama, for instance, proposes cutting a reimbursement program that aids California and other states that imprison large numbers of illegal immigrants on other criminal charges. The so-called State Criminal Alien Assistance Program is providing states $300 million this year, with California getting the largest share. Obama proposes cutting this to $136 million.(SacBee)

As you know, California is a donor state, receiving about 80 cents per dollar we send to the federal government in the most recent numbers.  That changed slightly with the stimu-bux, but as most of those are being phased out at this point, the hit to our budget is real

So, as we continue to focus on Sacramento, dark clouds are forming over Mordor Washington that threaten to make our fight more difficult.