Budget and Finance

Chart shows Brown budget follows Gann Limit

Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic legislators are congratulating themselves on passing a budget by the June 15 deadline and keeping a lid on spending. They insist they’re avoiding the excess spending that got the state into trouble when past recessions

Water conservation success backfires on policy-makers

Wayne Lusvardi June 16, 2014

A longstanding truism when it comes to needed goods such as water systems, flood control or catastrophic earthquake insurance is that the public wants them but does not want to pay for them. This was confirmed anew by a

State budget: Governor, lawmakers expected to finalize deal

John June 13, 2014

State lawmakers reached a tentative agreement on the state budget Thursday, after Gov. Jerry Brown caved to Democratic lawmakers’ demands over more funding for in-home support services for elderly and disabled Californians. “We are at this point prepared to bring

Sweeping new legal challenge to bullet train

Kathy Hamilton June 11, 2014

A massive California Environmental Quality Act lawsuit was filed June 4 in Sacramento Superior Court over the newly certified environmental impact report (EIR) for the bullet-train project segment linking Fresno to Bakersfield. This EIR is supposed to have far more

Column: UC regents urged to divest in fossil fuels

Joseph Perkins May 30, 2014

The scene brought to mind Tom Wolfe’s essay “Mau Mauing the Flak Catchers,” which was published all the way back in 1970, when young Jerry Brown was a member of the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees. Wolfe’s

Pension costs burden CA budget

James Poulos May 19, 2014

Gov. Jerry Brown still hasn’t gotten his state’s budget problems beat. A high-profile new report showed California still faces massive liabilities extending far into the future. The study, released by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, tallied over $340 billion in debts, deferred payment and other

Do Californians want to raise oil taxes?

Wayne Lusvardi May 15, 2014

Are Californians ready for another tax increase? That’s what California hedge-fund manager Tom Steyer sought to find out in his “People’s Poll” on whether voters would support an added oil extraction tax in California. The tax would be 9.9 percent on

Brown submits May Revise budget

Wayne Lusvardi May 14, 2014

Yesterday, Gov. Jerry Brown submitted the May Revision of his 2014-15 budget proposal with a mixture of line-item revisions. Most were budges that only moved the budget slightly. The fiscal year begins July 1. Over his January budget proposal, Brown increased the

19 CA members of Congress take pensions

John May 13, 2014

Former San Diego city councilman and mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio, who brought comprehensive pension reform to San Diego, is taking his fight to Capitol Hill. A new report published by the GOP congressional candidate identified 102 members of Congress that

AB2170 could boost local taxes

Dave Roberts May 9, 2014

A majority of Californians would rather have lower taxes and fewer government services than higher taxes and more government services, according to a recent Field poll. But the drive for higher taxes and more government services continues unabated in