John, Author at CalWatchdog.com

Posts From John

John

State Senate approves bill to revive Kelo-style redevelopment

California has moved one step closer to the return of redevelopment and the controversial power to seize private property through eminent domain. The state Senate approved legislation Wednesday that would give local governments the power to create new entities, known as

Assembly Republicans select Chad Mayes as next leader

John September 4, 2015

Come January, Assembly Republicans will have a new leader. On Tuesday, the 28 Republican members of the lower house selected Assemblyman Chad Mayes of Yucca Valley as their next leader. The caucus did not release the specific tally for the

University of California and stem cell agency highest paid state workers

John August 24, 2015

California taxpayers paid out big bucks to state workers in 2014. How much? More than the Gross Domestic Product of 100 countries, according to new data published by the State Controller’s office. In 2014, more than 650,000 state employees earned a total

Bill rewrites state travel policy to include sharing economy

John July 30, 2015

Sacramento once again has its eye on the sharing economy. This year, state lawmakers have targeted ride-sharing companies and short-term accommodation services for more regulations that, some fear, could kill the burgeoning industry. But, at least one state lawmaker has

Pro sports nonprofits seek special exemption from state raffle rules

John July 20, 2015

Professional sports franchises have a track record of securing special exemptions from environmental regulations, landing sweetheart bond financing deals and collecting direct government subsidies for stadiums. Now, the nonprofit arms of these billion-dollar businesses are looking to gain a special exemption

Audit reveals ‘serious and pervasive deficiencies’ in West Covina

John July 13, 2015

A scathing audit by state Controller Betty T. Yee has found “serious and pervasive deficiencies” in the city of West Covina’s administrative and internal accounting controls. The problems with West Covina’s public contracts were so bad, the controller’s office says,

Change in accounting rule forces governments to disclose liabilities

John July 12, 2015

State and local governments will no longer be allowed to hide the true costs of the long-term benefits provided to government workers. A recent change by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, known simply by the acronym GASB, forces government bodies

Initiative filing fee hike moves closer to approval

John June 27, 2015

A proposal to make it more expensive to file a ballot measure in California is moving closer to becoming law, worrying both liberal and conservative groups that frequently utilize the initiative process. Democratic Assemblymen Evan Low of Campbell and Richard Bloom of Santa Monica have

Lawmakers seek to reform community college accreditation process

John June 20, 2015

The state’s college accreditation process, which reviews academic standards at public and private colleges, could soon undergo a review of its own. A bill working its way through the Legislature would open up the accreditation process for California community colleges to ensure greater

Campaign 2016: Bipartisan group files pension reform initiative

John June 9, 2015

The battle over California’s out-of-control public employee pensions could soon move from the courtroom to the ballot box. A bipartisan group of pension reform advocates, led by former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and former San Diego Councilman Carl DeMaio, recently filed a