The Budget Deadline Nears
Well, we now know the plan. It’s a plan to negotiate with Governor Newsom after Monday’s deadline but to make sure lawmakers keep getting paid. Wednesday in a joint statement, Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) announced that they would pass the “Legislature’s” joint budget plan on […]
Will Independent Voters Support Defunding Police?
Plentiful signs and a theme throughout the weekend was “Defund the police.” The same message was painted next to the “BLACK LIVES MATTER” on 16th St. NW leading to The White House. Unlike the latter, the “defund” message was not city-approved and it sounds like city crews will be removing it. My question is what […]
Budget Blues
As I’ve written about several times and Governor Newsom has telegraphed on multiple occasions that the state budget world has taken a 180. Monday, Assembly Budget Committee, chaired by Phil Ting (D-San Francisco, echoed the governor with a memo that brought many hopes and dreams to a screeching halt. May Revision expects the Governor’s May […]
COVID-19 Changes the Initiative Landscape
The hard, can’t be waived, constitutional deadline for initiatives is 131 days for the Secretary of State to certify it. (Art. II, Sec. 8(c)) That date is June 25. However, the counties have to tabulate signatures by May 1, although that date CAN be changed as it’s not in the Constitution. The only ballot measure […]
Coronavirus Will Scramble California’s Economy & Lifestyle
I’m covering the coronavirus outbreak extensively mostly because of the economic impact on California and thus the state budget and not to spread panic. It is also consuming Governor Gavin Newsom‘s administration only weeks after a State of the State focused on housing and homelessness. The two aren’t necessarily silos, as there is growing concern […]
Despite Pressure Building on AB 5, It Will Stand with Some Changes, as It Should
In April 2018, the Supreme Court of California (SCOCAL) unanimously held in Dynamex that the twelve-factor Borello test and subsequent wage orders by the defunct Industrial Welfare Commission were not consistent with the prevailing California Labor Code. Instead, they applied a stricter A-B-C test for when companies must consider those performing work as employees and […]
Hold Off on PG&E Criticism….at Least for Now
There’s a lot of conspiracy theories out there about whether PG&E is doing this as part of a campaign for a bailout of the beleaguered utility. The fact is that the Legislature, Public Utilities Commission, and federal courts (the one overseeing the San Bruno probation, not bankruptcy) asked for this. While the federal court was […]
Harris Campaign in Trouble
Let’s not sugar-coat it. At 8% among likely Democratic primary voters in both the recent PPIC and IGS polls, junior U.S. Senator Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign is in deep trouble. It’s not that number itself, but rather that 66% of California likely voters have settled on Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, or Elizabeth Warren. Only 9% […]
The Trump-Inspired Tax Return Bill is Going to Court
The Supreme Court of California ordered the Secretary of State to show cause why the emergency writ of mandate to block SB 27 requested by the California Republican Party (CRP) and its chair Jessica Patterson should not be granted. The court asked attorneys from both sides to brief on a 1972 ballot measure, which added […]
Lawsuits Multiply Against Law Requiring Tax Returns for Ballot Access
A lawsuit by Rocky De La Fuente was filed last week challenging the constitutionality of SB 27 (McGuire and Wiener), the bill signed by Governor Gavin Newsom requiring presidential and gubernatorial candidates to file tax returns to get on California primary ballots. That federal suit was filed in the Southern District of California by De […]