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Joel Fox
Groups eye additional “sin tax” revenue
Is a tax on cigarettes a revenue raiser or a “sin tax” — used to discourage individuals from using products considered harmful? The effort to raise taxes on cigarettes – there is a measure in the Legislature as well a
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Referendums on passed legislation gain steam
Referendums on legislative actions may be making a comeback in California. Earlier this week, opponents of Senate Bill 277, the mandatory vaccination measure, began their quest to refer that legislative action to the voters for the November 2016 election. Already
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How will business lobby influence special session on transportation funds?
Governor Jerry Brown called special sessions to find permanent revenue sources to fund transportation infrastructure and Medi-Cal. The issue of keeping up with deteriorating roads has been a special concern to the business community and Brown is counting on business
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SCOTUS affirms power of initiative in redistricting case
The people can serve as legislators. In a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court declared that an initiative by the voters to create a commission in Arizona to draw congressional districts was constitutional. California established a similar commission in
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Gov. Brown seeks ‘permanent’ funding for Medi-Cal, infrastructure
In announcing the budget deal with the Legislature, Governor Jerry Brown announced two special sessions to deal with transportation and Medi-Cal funding. Call them the “special tax sessions.” In the press release announcing the sessions, the governor stated that the sessions were to
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Money and costs become central theme of cap and trade
When discussing California’s landmark cap-and-trade legislation set up to pay for carbon emissions, there is more conversation about money than there is about climate change. How much will the program cost? How will the money be spent? How will the
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Polls: Split-roll property tax initiative faces rough road
Two polls were issued last week, and while quite different in the territory they covered, both contained one question that examined the same issue – a split-roll property tax. In one way the results on that one question were quite
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Medi-Cal paradox creating problems for both doctors and patients
California’s health program for the poor and disabled, Medi-Cal, has presented state lawmakers with quite a perplexing paradox. More and more people fall under the protection of Medi-Cal and need a doctor but fewer and fewer doctors are accepting the
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How will businesses react to L.A. minimum wage boost?
The Los Angeles City Council tentatively voted to increase the city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020. The business community opposed the move. How business will react is unclear but there was much discussion during the debate over
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Minimum wage debate heats up in Los Angeles
What if three different studies on the effects of a minimum wage increase in Los Angeles each came up with a different conclusion — who do you trust? That was a question asked at the Town Hall Los Angeles debate Thursday
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