Issa leading bipartisan push for high-skilled visa overhaul

Good morning. Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! It’s a holiday, so we’ll keep it short.

With contending pieces of legislation now up for consideration in Congress, California has returned to the national spotlight on one of the most contentious immigration issues — special visas granted by the federal government to attract foreign talent.

Long critiqued by economic nationalists, including some Democrats, the H-1B visa program has been accused of undercutting qualified candidates in key industries who are U.S. citizens.

Leading a bipartisan effort to overhaul the program: Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista.

CalWatchdog has more. 

In other news:

• “California’s bullet train could cost taxpayers 50 percent more than estimated — as much as $3.6 billion more. And that’s just for the first 118 miles through the Central Valley, which was supposed to be the easiest part of the route between Los Angeles and San Francisco.” The Los Angeles Times has more. 

• “Education spending rises under Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed state budget, but some California schools are bracing for cuts,” reports the Los Angeles Times. 

• California lawmakers are preparing to wage war with the Trump administration, but what exactly is at stake? The San Francisco Chronicle explains. 

• “California union dues case dies, but another rises up,” reports The Sacramento Bee. 

Legislature:

• Back tomorrow.

Gov. Brown:

• No public events announced. 

Tips: matt@cawatchdog.com

Follow us: @calwatchdog @mflemingterp

New follower: @MarinKat

Report: State building modernization plan lacks oversight, behind schedule

Good morning! TGIF. 

The $1.3 billion first phase of a project to build and modernize 11 state office buildings lacks adequate accountability and oversight and is behind schedule, according to a new report. 

The report, released by the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office on Wednesday, identified three areas of concern. First, LAO writes the administration’s strategy “lacks basic information necessary to determine its merits, including its costs, benefits, and potential alternative approaches.” 

Second, the LAO noted the administration’s insistence on using a particular funding process that allows “the administration to establish and fund projects without legislative approval” greatly reduces legislative oversight. 

The LAO also called the construction and renovation plan “ambitious,” adding it was already behind schedule and that it is likely to become increasingly more expensive.

CalWatchdog has more. 

In other news:

• “The U.S. Department of Justice launched a civil rights investigation of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the Sheriff’s Department on Thursday over allegations that prosecutors and deputies withhold evidence and use jailhouse informants to illegally obtain confessions,” reports The Orange County Register. 

• “California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 54 last month, commanding the Legislature to be less sneaky by requiring 72 hours of public exposure for measures before their final votes. … The rules’ potential loophole is that they don’t require a 72-hour wait before a bill’s first floor vote in its first house by defining a bill’s “final form” – the words of Proposition 54 – as the version presented for a floor vote in the second house.” The Sacramento Bee has more. 

• “Poseidon Water hopes to help quench Orange County’s thirst, but first the company’s proposed desalination project must slake a thirst of its own. … But if Poseidon has its way, the $1-billion desalter it wants to build next door will simply take over use of the power station’s old intake pipe, which reaches roughly a quarter-mile into the ocean and is big enough for a tractor-trailer to drive through. Whether regulators allow Poseidon to do that will be the first major test of new state rules,” reports the Los Angeles Times.  

• “A bill that makes it easier for people to leave reviews on websites like Yelp and TripAdvisor without fear of being sued by businesses for sharing their opinion has become law,” writes The San Diego Union-Tribune. 

Legislature:

• Gone till December.

Gov. Brown:

• No public events announced.

Tips: matt@calwatchdog.com

Follow us: @calwatchdog @mflemingterp

New follower: @CelticsJunkies

Jean Fuller kept on a Senate Republican leader

Good morning. Happy Hump Day. 

Senate Republicans in Sacramento unanimously re-elected Jean Fuller as leader on Tuesday. The Bakersfield Republican has led the caucus since August 2015. 

Last month, Chad Mayes, the Republican leader in the Assembly, was also re-elected. Both Fuller and Mayes will be tasked with steering their caucuses through a particularly difficult time for California Republicans. 

The November election relegated Republicans in the Legislature to mostly the role of bombthrowers and bystanders. By gaining a two-thirds supermajority in both houses of the Legislature, Democrats can approve taxes and add constitutional amendments to the ballot without Republican support.

(Of course, that requires complete Democratic unity, which is often more elusive than it may seem at first glance.) 

CalWatchdog has more.

In other news: 

• “Close to 30 percent of the Bay Area’s residents aren’t able to make ends meet as they contend with high housing costs, suggesting poverty is more widespread in the region than official reports indicate, according to a study published Wednesday.” The San Jose Mercury News has more. 

• “After failing to pass new funding to tackle the state’s housing affordability crisis last session, two state senators are trying again. Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and Sen. Jim Beall (D-San Jose) have re-introduced legislation to add a $75 fee to real estate transactions, which is expected to generate hundreds of millions a year for low-income housing construction, and place a $3-billion bond to finance low-income housing before voters in 2018, respectively.” The Los Angeles Times has more. 

• “California lawmakers will consider a proposal next year to block the state’s pension funds from investing in a controversial oil pipeline that is planned to cross North Dakota’s Standing Rock Sioux Reservation,” reports the Los Angeles Times. 

• “In brief remarks about the subject, Brown said Monday that it would be difficult for the U.S. to ‘go rogue’ on climate change. He went further Tuesday in a broadcast discussion with former Vice President Al Gore, predicting a ‘negative and very powerful’ backlash throughout the world should Trump continue to voice his denials and impede the environmental progress of the last eight years.” The Sacramento Bee has more. 

Legislature:

• Gone till December.

Gov. Brown:

• No public events announced. 

Tips: matt@calwatchdog.com

Follow us: @calwatchdog @mflemingterp

New follower: @gfolchi

New session brings plan for bail reform

Good morning! The Legislature was back briefly on Monday – swearing in and talking Trump. Legislators also took little time to start pumping out policy proposals, setting the tone.

At a press conference in the Capitol on Monday morning, California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom explained that although he has long championed various reforms to the state’s criminal-justice system, he had in the past rarely even thought about the “money bail” system by which criminal defendants are released from jail after posting a bond.

Indeed, the system is so ubiquitous – bail-bonds offices cluster around courthouses – that it’s just an accepted part of the system. Yet that could all be changing. As Calwatchdog reported last month, reforming the state’s bail system will be a top priority as legislators return to the Capitol. Sure enough, the press conference was held shortly before the new session came to order and included several prominent Democratic legislators.

After an arrest, a judge will typically set a bail amount based on the seriousness of the alleged crime and on the defendant’s perceived flight risk. The defendant can post the full amount or pay a bondsman 10 percent of the bail, which is nonrefundable. The bail company assumes the financial risk if the defendant is a “no show.” The bond is meant to provide a strong financial incentive for the defendant to show up at the appointed court date.

But Newsom and the assembled legislators argued that the current system is antiquated and unfair – the “modern equivalent of debtors’ prison,” as sponsors of a reform bill put it. … And the converse is true, supporters say: Those who are poor but pose little danger or flight risk must stay in jail until the wheels of justice turn.

CalWatchdog has more. 

In other news:

• “While the state Legislature braced for Donald Trump on Monday, announcing legislation to help undocumented immigrants avoid deportation, Gov. Jerry Brown and Rep. Xavier Becerra, his choice for attorney general, took a more cautious tack toward the incoming administration,” reports Politico. 

• “A likely increase in defense spending under a Donald Trump presidency is expected to benefit technology companies that supply the military, spurring Bay Area and California economic growth to a greater degree than previously thought, according to a new UCLA Anderson Forecast report,” reports The San Jose Mercury News. 

• “A state bill introduced Monday would require California law enforcement agencies to keep track of their guns and establish a reporting procedure for when police lose them,” reports The Orange County Register. 

• “Marty Block, a state senator from San Diego who, under great political pressure, decided not to seek a second term, got a lucrative consolation prize Monday from Gov. Jerry Brown – an $146,609 per year appointment to the state Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board.” The Sacramento Bee has more. 

Legislature:

• Gone till January. 

Gov. Brown:

• No public events announced. 

Tips: matt@calwatchdog.com

Follow us: @calwatchdog @mfleming

New follower: @Ncholertonbrown

Good morning. TGIF. A new poll out this morning suggests that voters will likely approve many of the 17 measures on the ballot. Of the 10 polled by the Field Poll/UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, voters appear ready to approve at least seven.

Included among those poised to pass is recreational marijuana. CalWatchdog has more.

In other news:

• Important election data point: “The U.S. economy added a less-than-expected 161,000 jobs in October and the unemployment rate stood at 4.9 percent as investors got to digest the final payrolls report before Tuesday’s presidential election.” CNBC has more.

• Drought improving? “A rainy October in Northern California has lifted about a quarter of the state out of drought conditions, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported Thursday. It’s the rosiest picture released by federal officials since the spring of 2013, when about 64% of the state was considered to be in “moderate drought” — or worse.” The Los Angeles Times has more. 

• Two top Assembly races: “Millions of dollars in outside money is pouring into two high-profile Assembly races in San Bernardino County, state records show.” The San Bernardino County Sun has more. 

• Just in time: “Congressman Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, says he will repay $49,000 to his campaign account after months of revelations that he used the fund for personal expenses.” The San Diego Union-Tribune has more. 

Legislature:

• Gone till December. 

Gov. Brown:

• No public events announced. 

Tips: matt@calwatchdog.com

Follow us: @calwatchdog @mflemingterp

New follower: @sseekatz

Death penalty measures revive old fight

Good morning! While the 17-measure ballot might seem overwhelming to many voters, the good news is that it is not as long as it seems. Voters will choose between two competing death-penalty initiatives. 

In Proposition 62, voters are being asked whether to repeal the death penalty for those found guilty of murder and replace it with life in prison without the possibility of parole. In Proposition 66, voters are asked whether to streamline the appeals process to make it easier for the state to execute convicted murderers. 

Ironically, Prop. 62 would put an end to executions that rarely happen anyway. The last execution in California took place a decade ago – all executions have been delayed because of legal challenges to the use of lethal injections.

Those realities actually bolster the case made by the supporters of both initiatives. Backers of Prop. 62 argue that the state’s death penalty is a failed system because so few people are actually executed.

CalWatchdog has more. 

In other news:

• “(Andrew) Naylor, a systems administrator with a business degree, had bought up thousands of web addresses, many wine-related, and sold one for a five-figure sum. After watching the Prop. 8 blitz, he started buying addresses with combinations of yes and no on propositions 1 to 100. And that’s how Naylor became a virtual landlord of more than 1,000 campaign domain names — and a dominant player in California’s marketplace for political web addresses.” The San Jose Mercury News/Calmatters has more.

• “California’s two senators and House members from both parties are trying to block the Pentagon from recovering tens of millions of dollars worth of illegal retention and re-enlistment bonuses it awarded to California National Guard soldiers during the height of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars,” reports The Sacramento Bee.

• But Congress shouldn’t be too shocked, as members knew about the issue two years ago, reports the Los Angeles Times.

• “The Bay Area’s only Republican state legislator is in an expensive fight to keep her seat, with Catharine Baker, of Dublin, facing a challenge from Cheryl Cook-Kallio in a battle pitting an avowed supporter of bipartisan work against a former city councilwoman and teacher espousing traditional Democratic values,” writes The San Jose Mercury News.

Legislature:

• Gone till December.

Gov. Brown:

• No public events announced.

Tips: matt@calwatchdog.com

Follow us: @calwatchdog @mflemingterp

New followers: @CaCities

Air quality regulator fees fund fancy trips as consumer costs increase

Good morning. Happy Hump Day!

Ready for the final presidential debate tonight? Don’t worry, it’ll all be over soon. Before we get to things to watch for tonight, we swing by the Bay Area, where fee increases by the local air quality regulator get passed on to consumers — and the directors enjoy the surplus funds.

Not even a month after sending two dozen people on a pricey trip to New Orleans, a member of the board of directors of the Bay Area’s air quality regulator boasted that the agency was “flush” with cash.

In July, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District was considering whether to hire additional staffers to assist with administering a new regulation when board member Shirlee Zane boasted “this air board, quite frankly, is flush.”

“We can more than afford to hire … extra help to do the assessment,” said Zane, a Sonoma County supervisor.

“We have plenty of money,” Zane added — a sentiment echoed by Katie Rice, a board member and Marin County supervisor.

While the rosy perception of the district’s finances may have been isolated to just a few board members, the willingness to spend on additional staff and a lavish New Orleans trip coincided with what’s become a routine increase in fees charged to those local businesses considered stationary sources of air pollution — costs which experts say are then passed onto consumers. 

CalWatchdog has more. 

In other news:

• Capital Public Radio gives four things to watch in the debate tonight. 

• “In a scathing sentencing position filed late Tuesday with the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, federal prosecutors requested five years’ imprisonment in their corruption case against former state Sen. Ron Calderon,” reports The Sacramento Bee. 

• The Orange County Register give four ways the county can “help its homeless.”

• “A California-based tribe’s recent loss at the National Labor Relations Board could reignite interest in controversial legislation affecting Indian casinos and union workers nationwide,” reports The Sacramento Bee. 

Legislature:

• Gone till December.

Gov. Brown:

• No public events announced.

Tips: matt@calwatchdog.com

Follow us: @calwatchdog @mflemingterp

New follower: @PaulParmley

CA’s majority-minority electorate heads to polls

Good morning. Happy Monday. By this point, you’ve no doubt heard that this election is historic for many reasons. However, one reason that doesn’t get mentioned as much is the historic nature of the electorate itself.

As early ballots arrive in mailboxes this week, Golden State voters will arrive at a symbolic and substantial demographic landmark: a so-called majority-minority electorate.

Despite a clear trend since the 1990s toward political dominance by Democrats, the longer term implications of the demographic shift have remained shrouded in mystery.

On the one hand, in-state Republicans have weathered a period of fracture likely to end eventually in a new but familiar rough equilibrium between the two major parties. On the other hand, nonwhite voting patterns, especially in recent immigrant families, have in some respects had a limited impact on California politics. 

CalWatchdog has more. 

In other news:

• “Big cities throughout California continue to be roiled by police issues. Oakland and San Francisco have gotten the most attention because of high-profile police chiefs being forced out over a sex scandal involving an underage prostitute and because of unarmed African Americans being killed by officers, respectively. … But the two iconic Bay Area cities are hardly alone in having police problems.” CalWatchdog has more. 

• “Nationwide foreclosure settlement was a victory for California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, but an imperfect one,” reports the Los Angeles Times.

• “Seven in 10 University of California workers in clerical, administrative and support services struggle to put adequate food on the table, according to a new Occidental College study.” The Los Angeles Times has more. 

• “With Donald Trump’s deepening warnings about a ‘rigged’ presidential campaign, and renewing doubts about the legitimacy of the democratic process, California’s election chief said Sunday that he has great faith in the state’s county election officials and its thousands of volunteer poll workers,” reports The Sacramento Bee. 

Legislature:

• Gone ’til December.

Gov. Brown: 

• No public events announced.

Tips: matt@calwatchdog.com

Follow us: @calwatchdog @mflemingterp

New follower: @AlexSamatorchen

Wells Fargo fallout

Good morning. Happy Hump Day. If last night’s vice presidential debate wasn’t enough debate for you, you’re in luck! Tonight, California’s two U.S. Senate candidates are having what could be their only debate.

We’ll get to the debate by the end of this newsletter. But first, more Wells Fargo fallout.

In the wake of California’s unprecedented punishment of San Francisco-based Wells Fargo for bogus lending practices, legal sanctions spread eastward, with other state officials and Hillary Clinton herself going after the bank. CalWatchdog has more. 

In other news:

• “CA golf club suit deepens Trump’s woes,” writes CalWatchdog.

• “Add navigating California’s byzantine professional license standards to the list of obstacles a job applicant faces after leaving the military or getting out of prison. That system – in place since the Gold Rush – often places a disproportionate burden on some of the state’s most vulnerable residents, according to a new report…” The Sacramento Bee has more.

• Candidates for the California Legislature are running into the red as they enter the campaign home stretch for the Nov. 8 election. Recently filed reports with the state show that campaign committees of candidates for the state Assembly and state Senate reported more than $4.6 million in outstanding debt as of Sept. 24. That is about one-third higher than the outstanding debt listed at the end of June,” writes The Sacramento Bee.

• The Los Angeles Times explains what we should expect from tonight’s U.S. Senate debate. 

Legislature:

• Gone ’til December.

Gov. Brown:

• >Speaking in Sacramento around 12:30 p.m. at the 10th anniversary celebration of the passage of AB32 (major environment legislation).

Tips: matt@calwatchdog.com

Follow us: @calwatchdog @mflemingterp

New follower: @mercurycalif

Redevelopment nearing return?

Good morning. Happy Monday. Gov. Jerry Brown has finished deciding the fate of all the bills passed this last legislative session.

And so if up until now you felt like there was an overdose of election coverage, well, it’s about to get worse. So enjoy our first story about the possible return of redevelopment. 

Five years ago, when state courts upheld Gov. Jerry Brown’s and the Legislature’s move to shut down redevelopment in California and seize $1.7 billion in redevelopment funds from local agencies around the state, Brown’s crusade won cheers around the state.

Many saw the diversion of some property tax revenues to well-connected developers in the name of improving “blighted” areas as akin to crony capitalism, and many also didn’t like the frequent use of eminent domain to seize land for redevelopment projects.

But Brown never really made clear if he shared this critique — or if he just thought that during a budget crisis, the $1.7 billion he could take could be put to better use. 

Now it is clear that Brown was driven by fiscal pressures. Last year, he signed Assembly Bill 2, which allows local governments to expand and better fund entities called a “Community Revitalization and Investment Authorities.”

Last week, he signed AB2492, a companion bill that defines circumstances in which local taxes can be diverted for which projects — and it appears to encourage the same sort of mischievous declarations of blight that drove critics mad in redevelopment’s previous California incarnation. 

CalWatchdog has more. 

In other news:

• “For the first time in its 148-year history, The San Diego Union-Tribune endorsed a Democrat for president — Hillary Clinton.” CalWatchdog has more. 

• “As the worst smog season in years winds down, new doubts appear to cloud a costly strategy broached three months ago by Southern California’s regional air quality agency to bring air pollution levels down to healthful levels,” reports the Los Angeles Daily News.

• “Rarely the subject of entertainment industry buzz, Gov. Jerry Brown sparked outrage and confusion among First Amendment advocates by a new law intended to protect actors’ privacy online,” CalWatchdog has more. 

• The Los Angeles Times explains “Why opponents of increasing the tobacco tax aren’t talking about tobacco.” 

• ICYMI: “CalPERS poised to cut retiree pensions in small Sierra town,” from The Sacramento Bee.

Legislature: 

• Gone ’til December.

Gov. Brown:

• No public events scheduled.

Tips: matt@calwatchdog.com

Follow us: @calwatchdog @mflemingterp

New follower: @NOH8Campaign