Inside Government

Back to homepage

Majority of union workers now in govt.

A study just out from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that, for the first time, the majority of union members work for the government, rather than the private sector. This is why, years ago, private-sector union bosses opposed unionizing

Read More

Interview With A Candidate

I just finished an interesting interview with California’s Insurance Commissioner and candidate for Governor, Steve Poizner. Among the topics of discussion were his plans for immediate economic relief for the state upon taking office, how to permanently cut the size

Read More

AB 32 Poll To Be Released Today

Later today a poll will be released demonstrating that a large majority of Californians want AB 32 suspended. The consequences of AB 32 have been vociferously addressed by Assembly Member Dan Logue, R, Marysville. Logue has been a staunch advocate

Read More

Don't ask about this resolution

Jan. 20, 2010 By KATY GRIMES With California’s massive budget problems, there should be plenty of meaningful, critical state business for the Legislature to focus on. However, the nine-member Assembly Judiciary Committee spent time last week on a resolution calling

Read More

Gov. Susan Kennedy

In 2003, voters shouted Hasta la vista, baby! to Gov. Gray Davis and his whole staff, including Cabinet Secretary Susan Kennedy, recalling the lot of them. At the same time, voters elected as governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on his promises to

Read More

Per Diem Pay For Senate… Today?

When senate pay is at stake, illness apparently is no excuse for absence. Senate leadership made Senator Sam Aanestad drive the distance from his hometown to be the magic number twenty-one for “check in” today.  If there are not twenty-one

Read More

Bill Language To Change

After reading my story about AB 978, the bill proposing to streamline the business permitting process only for California businesses contracting with the state, the office of Assemblyman V. Manual Perez, the author of the bill, called me. Amy Wilson

Read More

Flat Tax idea revived

Jan. 15, 2010 By JOHN SEILER Challenging times demand innovative answers to problems. This is such a time for the California state budget, which has been chronically out of whack for a decade. The governor’s January budget proposal doesn’t make

Read More

Official state records are disappearing

Jan. 13, 2010 By ANTHONY PIGNATARO If there’s one thing our state government does exceptionally well, it’s the production of records. Every month, dozens of state agencies and departments — to say nothing of the Legislature itself — churns out

Read More

Is FI$Cal doomed?

And now it’s time to talk about the Financial Information System for California, which is known colloquially by the obscenely cutesy acronym FI$Cal. It doesn’t get a lot of press, but this project—conceived back in 2007 as an “historic partnership” between

Read More