January 2016 | Page 2 of 6 | CalWatchdog.com

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State may face $29-43 billion budget deficit in 2020

In Gov. Jerry Brown’s State of the State Address last week, he noted that California’s budget has repeatedly failed to prepare for recession, resulting in “painful and unplanned-for cuts” to schools, child care, courts, social services and other programs. He

Sanders/Clinton split could sting CA Dems

James Poulos January 26, 2016

California Democrats divided amidst their own dominance — along lines of class, geography and spending policy — can add another fracture line to the mix: the race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders for their party’s presidential nomination. “En route

Gas leak ruling provides secrecy and legal defense to SoCal Gas

Tori Richards January 26, 2016

Government officials have ordered the Southern California Gas Co. to shut down its leaky Aliso Canyon well, yet the ruling is far from a victory for the thousands of sickened Porter Ranch residents, an attorney charges. On Saturday, Jan. 23, the

CPUC slaps Uber with big fine

James Poulos January 25, 2016

To play in California, Uber must pay. “The California Public Utilities Commission agreed last Thursday with a judge’s recommendation to fine Uber $7.6 million for failing to meet data reporting requirements in 2014,” the Los Angeles Times reported. “Uber will appeal the

CA rejects VW recall plan

James Poulos January 25, 2016

Thanks to California regulators, Volkswagen hasn’t yet found a way out of worldwide trouble. Federal agencies have flexed their muscles in tandem. “U.S. regulators rejected Volkswagen AG’s plan for recalling nearly 500,000 diesel-powered cars,” as the Wall Street Journal noted. “The Environmental Protection Agency,

Gov. Brown shakes up CA Dems on preschool

James Poulos January 24, 2016

California Democrats have been put back on their heels once again by Gov. Jerry Brown, whose approach to preschool education has departed from party orthodoxy. “Brown wants to combine three state-funded early education programs, strip their requirements and let each

Union funding endangered by pending Supreme Court case

Steve Miller January 23, 2016

The average K-12 teacher in California pays at least $30,000 in union dues over the course of a 30-year career, at a minimum of $1,000 a year. But not all teachers want to pay that much; 12,212 teachers in 2014

Date set for appeal of landmark Vergara ruling

Chris Reed January 23, 2016

A state appellate court has scheduled oral arguments for Feb. 25 in the state’s appeal of the trial court ruling in Vergara v. California, which held that five California teacher-protection laws involving tenure and layoffs were unconstitutional because they had

Pensions initiative pulled

James Poulos January 22, 2016

The landmark effort to take public pension reform straight to the people of California has been withdrawn from ballot consideration. “Beleaguered by fundraising doubts and attacks from organized labor, two former California officials said Monday they are backing off plans

New regulation fights shadow lobbying

Matt Fleming January 22, 2016

The state’s political watchdog agency unanimously approved a new regulation on Thursday making it harder for lobbyist groups to conceal influence peddling activities, known informally as “shadow lobbying.” Currently, anyone who spends $5,000 or more to influence legislative or administrative action is