Critical Mass On Budget Reform

The weekly Democratic radio address (which ought to be a YouTube address, come on guys) called for an end to the 2/3 requirement for budget and tax increases. This is the first time in my memory that so many lawmakers are openly talking about revising 2/3. It's not a new problem - 28 of the last 32 budgets have been late due to legislative squabbling, with the fights becoming more protracted than ever over the past decade. And every economic downturn, no matter how slight, sets off a crisis. Assemblyman John Perez made it clear:

The budget would not have taken so long and would have not included non-budget related issues like an open primary if California did not have the unusual requirement of a two thirds vote for budget approval.

Reforming this two-thirds requirement should be a priority for all Californians.

Perez did not reference whether the new requirement should be the arbitrary 55% number, which is what the current initiative being circulated states, or a simple democratic majority. We've learned where a number of Democrats stand this weekend:

• Darrell Steinberg decided not to mention 2/3 hardly at all in his op-ed in the Sacramento Bee. That's a lack of leadership. No elected official should be speaking in public and pass up the opportunity to advocate for majority vote. He instead opted for a Broderist call for working together and the awkward tag line "Smarter going forward."

In comments to David Greenwald, Steinberg did call for repeal, but failed to pick a side.

“The answer in my view is to take this two-thirds supermajority requirement. We are one of three states in the country that allows a small minority of members to hold up the progress.... It doesn't really work for California; it worked this time barely because of the magnitude of the crisis... We need to take the question this two-thirds supermajority to the ballot. I feel even stronger now than I did when I started on December 1.”

• Karen Bass is also talking about 2/3, but she is looking at the arbirtrary standard:

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, has proposed one that would allow lawmakers to approve budgets with 55 percent majorities if they do it by June 15. After that, it would take two-thirds votes.

It's not necessarily that this kind of measure would definitely not pass because all the thrust of majority democratic rule is lost, but that's certainly a factor.

• In that same article, Loni Hancock calls for a simple majority:

Hancock has introduced a constitutional amendment that would require only simple majorities to approve budgets.

"California needs to have a normal democracy like every other state in the nation except Rhode Island and Arkansas," she said.

That's a talking point. 55% is mush.

The point is that we have the Democratic leadership finally talking about the main impediment to the perpetual budget crisis. Without two-thirds, you can fix a tax system that is too closely tied to boom-and-bust economic cycles. Without two-thirds, you can end the virtual bribery of Yacht Party and moderate lawmakers. Without two-thirds, you can end the Big Five process that facilitates official secrecy and backroom deals and use a deliberative process involving the committee structure and relying on the input of the entire caucus. And without 2/3, you won't have to hear from high Broderist windbags tinkering on the margins with proposals that make them feel good but will do absolutely nothing to solve the problem. It's kind of hilarious that the LAST proposal in George "Can't We All Get Along" Skelton's long list in today's column is this:

* A simple majority vote for budget passage; 55% at most. Scrap the two-thirds vote requirement.

Man The Life Rafts In California

When Republican zealots went to court today to stop the "illegal" work-around budget from passage, when it hadn't even left the Governor's desk yet, I intuitively knew that he would veto it. Sure enough...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this afternoon vetoed the Democratic plan to reduce the budget deficit by $18 billion and will urge lawmakers to use his January proposal as a template for implementing midyear cuts, according to Schwarzenegger communications director Matt David.

The move forces leaders to start over in their efforts to close a budget deficit estimated at $40 billion over the next 18 months. It jettisons -- for now -- what Democrats hailed as "the only game in town" -- because it included tax increases approved without Republican votes.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg tells the SacBee ed. board that the Governor got cold feet:

Between Sunday night and Monday, something else occurred unrelated to the specifics of the issues. It is cold feet, you know. He met with Republican leaders on Monday morning. I think he is back in that place where he believes he can get Republican votes for revenue and therefore doesn't have to do this unorthodox majority vote thing. We have been sort of going down that road for five or six years. It hasn't resulted in a single vote.

Arnold thinks he's so AWSOM that he can convince the same people who have stomped on his stomach for 5 years to come around. Or, more likely, he didn't want to make the anti-tax zealots cross and risk a court battle. There is no chance his budget can pass - it has even more tax increases in it than the work-around budget, and a substantial portion of it is, essentially, "hope for private investment." This leads us even further down a road to ruin. Don't expect any tax refunds, folks.

What's so frustrating about this is that the answers are so ridiculously simple. Loni Hancock, the new State Senator from the Berkeley area, put this out today, and the solutions are in nice bite-sized chewable portions.

1) The 2/3rds Vote

California requires a 2/3rds vote to pass a state budget. This is not how a democracy normally functions. California is one of only three states with this 2/3rds vote requirement. Forty-seven other states, the United States Congress, and every city, county and school district in California pass budgets with a simple majority vote.

The 2/3rds vote requirement has proved fatally dysfunctional for California, making it impossible in recent years to pass budgets on time or with transparency and accountability.

2) "The Pledge"

Every Republican Legislator, except one, has signed a pledge promising never, under any circumstances, to raise taxes for the things government provides - schools, roads, parks, clean air and water, fire and police protection. Their pledge is not to their constituents, but to Grover Norquist, the founder of the Washington, D.C. based conservative organization called Americans for Tax Reform.

Grover Norquist is the Republican lobbyist who is famous for saying, "I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub." It is ironic that even though right-wing policies to deregulate, privatize, and cut taxes have been discredited at the national level and repudiated by the American people, Grover Norquist is poised to achieve his goal in California.

The $18 Billion Solution

Both the Governor and the Legislature rejected the Republican proposal as posturing, while the Democratic majority presented the Governor with an ethical and rational solution to wipe out $18 billion of the $41 billion deficit. The Democratic package raises revenue by eliminating the gas tax, replacing it with other taxes that will not hurt the finances of the average working family in California (the State Constitution allows taxes to be raised by a simple majority if the result is 'revenue neutral') and puts in place a Highway Users Fee on gasoline that can be used only for transportation infrastructure.

It works. It keeps California solvent as we address the remaining $23 billion shortfall and negotiate a budget for next year. Our mid-year solution takes $2 billion from education, not the $10 billion in cuts proposed by the Republicans. The cuts made are devastating - but the school doors stay open and California lives to fight another day.

Where is the Governor?

Governor Schwarzenegger recognizes that taxes must be raised or the state will collapse. He has called for tax increases, many of which Democrats would support - including an oil production tax (of the 22 oil producing states in the United States, only California does not have a tax on oil production of any sort) and a sales tax expansion to cover some services. However, he has been unable to get a single vote from Republican legislators, and was denounced by the California Republican Party for recognizing the need for increased revenue if the state is to survive.

Now the Governor refuses to sign the $18 billion solution crafted by the Democrats. Instead he demands concessions on labor and environmental regulations and additional cuts in grants to the poorest people in California.

We Need 3 Changes in the Budget Process

California must adopt a simple majority to pass the state budget. Let the majority party negotiate a budget and be held accountable for that budget, like the U.S. Congress and all local governments.

California should adopt a two-year budget. The second year of the budget cycle should be devoted to program oversight and any needed adjustments.

Lastly, when the budget is adopted it should contain five and ten year projections of expenses and income, so advanced planning can be done realistically.

Republicans want to pull off a neat trick - they want to destroy state government without being RESPONSIBLE for it. And California, quite frankly, has let them. We'll be feeling the consequences now. What a disaster.

The CA Legislature Must Keep The Pressure On

Frank Russo predictably delivered with great coverage of yesterday's Assembly Natural Resources Committee hearing into political pressure from the Governor's Office on the California Air Resources Board. Just keep scrolling. The most shocking piece of news that Russo highlights, which was also in a couple news articles on the subject, was that the Administration flack sent to give the Governor's side of the story, Dan Skopec, ISN'T EVEN PART OF THE ADMINISTRATION ANYMORE.

Skopec no longer works for the Schwarzenegger Administration as of a week ago, and has started his own firm, "Climate & Energy Consulting" on Sacramento's K Street Mall, to serve clients he described as "emerging technologies companies that will take advantage of the changes in energy that will result from climate policies." Despite repeated questions from committee members, he refused to reveal who in the Administration had asked him to testify, who he had spoken to about the hearing, who had prepped him, and what he was told. Although he repeatedly testified about actions of the Schwarzenegger Administration using the word "we", he later apologized for the use of that word which he is accustomed to use. He later admitted that he was not speaking for the Schwarzenegger Administration, but was basically there as a private citizen.

They sent a lobbyist to defend the Governor. The hay that can be made from that decision is pretty clear. And this part could be even more damning:

Dr. Sawyer (the former CARB chief), in his testimony, complimented Catherine Witherspoon for resigning from her position as the Executive Officer of CARB since she serves in that position at the pleasure of the board itself. Despite the desire of Susan Kennedy, Schwarzenegger's Chief of Staff, to have her fired, this could not be accomplished directly by the Governor. Sawyer said he had been ordered to place this on the agenda and met with a subcommittee of the board only to find out that there was a consensus of fellow board members not to do so. It was feared that had Witherspoon remained in the position that individual board members would be removed until there was a majority willing to fire her.

Does this remind one of the Saturday massacre involving U.S. Attorney General Elliott Richardson and Archibald Cox during the Watergate scandal of the Nixon Administration?

Schwarzenegger is taking a beating in both the local and national press, as well he should. This reflects nothing more than an abuse of power.

I would like everyone reading this who lives in California to call their Assemblymember. They need to know that they will be supported in this effort to rein in the Schwarzenegger Administration and ensure that oversight is undertaken and the laws of the state are met. That includes subpoenas for top Schwarzenegger Administration officials if need be. The Senate also needs to hear from you; they will be meeting next week in the Rules Committee to confirm the new chair of the Board, Mary Nichols. That needs to be a legitimate confirmation hearing with tough questions about Nichols' independence and how she will implement the Global Warmings Solution Act. This is not a small issue; as I write, I'm watching the Live Earth concerts and seeing millions of people begging for action on climate change. Now, here we have one of the only legitimate pieces of legislation in this country addressing the issue, and it's being undermined by a Governor who wants to talk big on the environment while supporting his corporate buddies behind the scenes.

These are the Democrats on the Natural Resources Committee, who are particularly important.

Loni Hancock - Chair
Dem-14 (916) 319-2014 Assemblymember.hancock@assembly.ca.gov
Julia Brownley
Dem-41 (916) 319-2041 Assemblymember.Brownley@assembly.ca.gov
Felipe Fuentes
Dem-39 (916) 319-2039 Assemblymember.fuentes@assembly.ca.gov
John Laird
Dem-27 (916) 319-2027 Assemblymember.laird@assembly.ca.gov
Lori Saldaña
Dem-76 (916) 319-2076 Assemblymember.Saldana@assembly.ca.gov

Here are the points of contact for the Senate Rules Committee:

Senator Don Perata (Chair)
Senator.Perata@sen.ca.gov
(510) 286-1333.
Senator Gilbert Cedillo
contact
Senator Alex Padilla
(818) 901-5588
contact

It helps, of course, if you are a constituent (Asm. Brownley will be getting plenty of calls from me). But even if you're not, this is an important enough issue, one that speaks to the very structure of democracy in this state, that you should make a call. And ALL of your representatives ought to know that you're paying close attention to this issue and that you want results which are consistent with the law and the need to take a real and not a symbolic step in the fight against global warming.

CARBgate Hearing - Republicans chicken out, Democrats hold firm

The first couple reports about today's Assembly Natural Resources Committee hearing into the politicization of the California Air Resources Board are starting to dribble out. The SacBee described a set of angry lawmakers sking pointed questions and threatening that their probe into how the Governor is trying to manipulate the board into adopting his favored implementation of anti-global warming laws would continue.

Assembly Democrats said Friday they will continue investigating whether Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger exerted "illegal and improper pressure" on the California Air Resources Board after they were dissatisfied with answers given by two lower-level representatives of the governor at a Capitol hearing.

The higher-ups sought for questioning, Chief of Staff Susan Kennedy and Cabinet Secretary Dan Dunmoyer, did not arrive, even though handy seat cards were placed at the table awaiting their presence. Dan Skopec, the functionary who the Schwarzenegger Administration sent to testify, apparently grumbled and gainsayed his way through the hearing, much to the dismay of committee Democrats. Matt Jones at CMR writes:

Skopec, who, in a former life, carried the water of Rep. Doug Ose (the former Sacramento area Congressman who defended the energy generators), was a disaster. He called the testimony of CARB officials "fiction," and then refused to answer committee questions about the Governor's staff review of his testimony. He also provoked the committee by calling the hearing political theater -- not a wise move for someone who later said he may soon be a lobbyist before the legislature.

Skopec's comments drew scorn from Assemblymember Jared Huffman of Marin County, who compared the Schwarzenegger Administration's micromanagement of the Air Board to Karl Rove in the White House. LA Assemblymember Mike Feuer also lit into Skopec for failing to fully answer questions. Other members of the panel -- including Santa Barbara Assemblymember Pedro Nava, Sacramento's Dave Jones, and Mark DeSaulnier of Contra Costa County -- also asked pointed questions and drew incomplete answers from the Administration officials.

Jones also mentioned that not one Republican on the committee even bothered to show up at the hearing. They want no part of this controversy, probably because they don't believe in such a thing as global warming to begin with.

The testimony of the two former members of the Air Resources Board, Robert Sawyer and Catherine Witherspoon, seemed to me to be fairly damaging.

Schwarzenegger fired Sawyer last month, and Witherspoon resigned Monday because she said the Governor's Office had tried to control the air board to the benefit of polluters. In particular, Witherspoon said Schwarzenegger deputy chief of staff Dan Dunmoyer had routinely called her to question whether ARB policies would unduly hurt businesses in California.

Sawyer said the governor's office has undermined the traditional independence of the air board, which has the reputation of being an apolitical, science-based body.

"The governor's staff has the task of conveying policy directions from the governor to the Air Resources Board," Sawyer said. "However, Gov. Schwarzenegger, your staff has interjected itself in a manner that has compromised the independence and integrity of the board."

You know, it doesn't matter whether or not legislators want the Governor's support on healthcare reform, or the term limits initiative. This cuts to the very heart of how the branches of government in California function. The Assembly is standing up right now, so far, because they feel the presence would have no meaning if they pass laws that the Governor then can simply circumnavigate to arrive at his preferred solution. In addition, the Assembly is not being permitted to conduct oversight with the actual executive staff involved in the incident. If Dan Dunmoyer was calling CARB members and pressuring them to back off tough regulatory stances, then he must be brought before the committee to answer for that. It's quite simple.

As for next steps, Loni Hancock, who's an excellent progressive voice in the Assembly, is mulling over a variety of options.

Afterward, Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, the committee chair, left open the possibility of seeking a subpoena of Kennedy and Dunmoyer to force them to answer committee questions. She also said lawmakers may pursue bills that enable air board appointees to serve for fixed terms rather than at the pleasure of the governor, giving board members more independence. Another possibility is to give state lawmakers appointment powers.

I don't see how the Governor would sign bills taking away his authority, so to me, the subpoena route seems the only one that's viable. Democrats are also starting to fight this one in the court of public opinion, which to someone like the ego-driven Schwarzenegger is the only court that matters.

This should get very, very interesting. Stay tuned...

CARBgate Update: Schwarzenegger Taking A Hit Nationally

I wouldn't have expected the national media to pick up on the story of the Governor's actions not matching his rhetoric when it comes to the environment, but the New York Times actually found some room for it in today's paper.  They even highlight the governing-by-magazine-cover that has become a staple of this Administration.

In September, Mr. Schwarzenegger, a Republican, signed into law a landmark emissions-reduction measure and then drove a green bus during his easy, breezy re-election campaign. Since then, he has announced that he will buy offsets for his own personal carbon emissions, threatened to sue the Environmental Protection Agency over air quality and appeared on the cover of Newsweek spinning a globe on his finger [...]

But the Governator’s eco-friendly reputation may have taken a dent over the last week in a messy battle over the leadership of the California Air Resources Board, a science-geared agency that has traditionally operated with considerable autonomy, even though its 11 members are political appointees. Its most visible mandate is the nuts and bolts of putting the emissions law, known as AB 32, into effect [...]

“We have schizophrenia here,” said James Marston, a lobbyist for Environmental Defense who worked on passing the emissions law. “Even while we were doing AB 32, the Schwarzenegger administration was a little schizophrenic." [...]

“There’s an obvious difference to what he’s been saying and what his administration and other appointees have been doing,” said Don Perata, a Democrat who is president pro tempore of the State Senate. “There’s some real knuckle draggers over there.”

The replacement of the fired Robert Sawyer on the board with environmental stalwart Mary Nichols certainly reflects an effort by the Governor to stop the bleeding.  But the Democrats in the Assembly are holding a hearing on the Sawyer and Catherine Witherspoon resignations today, and when our man in Sacramento Frank Russo has any information we'll bring it to you. 

Meanwhile, two top aides to Schwarzenegger, Chief of Staff Susan Kennedy and Cabinet Secretary Dan Dunmoyer, were asked to testify in the hearing, and the Governor refused their participation.  So committee Chair Loni Hancock is talking about subpoenas:

Assembly Democrats said they may need to subpoena two of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's aides, who are expected to rebuff an invitation to testify at an oversight hearing today on why two officials were forced from the state's air resources board.

Berkeley Assemblywoman Loni Hancock sent letters to Schwarzenegger's chief of staff, Susan Kennedy, and Cabinet Secretary Dan Dunmoyer, asking them to testify at the Natural Resources hearing she heads. Her committee is looking into accusations that the administration interfered with the board's implementation of AB 32, the landmark law to curb greenhouse gases by 25 percent by 2020.

"If we don't get the answers we hope and expect, the committee will explore the option of a subpoena," said Steve Maviglio, deputy chief of staff for Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles.

Schwarzenegger's aides had not replied to Hancock by Thursday, though a spokesman said they will send a representative of the administration to the hearing but not the two staff members.

Dan Walters thinks that this could be some kabuki theater, which would be interesting, because clearly there is a real conflict over implementation of the landmark Global Warming Solutions Act, and clearly neither side wants to give an inch.  The Governor has the upper hand because the Air Resources Board, which is tasked with implementation, is entirely appointed by him.  But the Legislature can undertake meaningful oversight like they are today, and use Schwarzenegger's fascination with his own self-image as a lever to get the required solution.  This bit, incidentally, from Walters' story, was remarkably reminiscent of another chief executive:

Núñez [...] said he had wanted Kennedy and Dunmoyer to appear before the Assembly Natural Resources Committee today -- asking first orally and then, late Tuesday, in the form of letters to the two gubernatorial aides. [...]

Later, Schwarzenegger's press secretary, Aaron McLear, said such an appearance "would be unprecedented," which doesn't square with the historical facts. Kennedy, who was then a high-ranking aide to Schwarzenegger's predecessor, Democrat Gray Davis, testified before a legislative committee delving into a scandal involving a software contract with Oracle Corp. five years ago. In fact, the circumstances were somewhat similar, with critics alleging that Kennedy had interceded with a state agency for political reasons.

A press flack calling appearances before legislative committees "unprecedented" when the same person sought to testify has HERSELF appeared in the past?  Knock me over with a feather.

CA Clean Money: Perata Endorses

This is an absolutely enormous development. Clean Money got kind of lost in the shuffle at last weekend's CDP Convention, but Loni Hancock's AB 583 has been quietly making its way through the Assembly. It cleared the Assembly Elections Committee, and yesterday there was a hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, which was favorable. And now, the Senate President pro Tem has signed on to be a co-author. Considering that the CDP wouldn't take a position on Clean Money just a year ago, this is historic news. Susan Lerner writes in an email to supporters:

I want you to be among the first to hear the exciting news: California Senate President pro Tem Don Perata just became a co-author of AB 583, the Clean Money bill!

The President pro Tem joins an ever-growing list of Legislators who are co-authors of AB 583, the California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act. Clean Money supporters in Senator Perata's Oakland district and throughout California should be proud because it was your calls, letters, and petitions that convinced him to sign on as a active Clean Money supporter.

As Mark Leno said in yesterday's Appropriation Committee hearing, "AB 583 is more than just a bill, it's a movement." Two years ago it was stopped in committee. Last year it cleared the Assembly. And this year, Perata's support will go a long way to helping it pass both houses and go on to the governor. This movement understands that the ability to wage fair and clean elections is vital to sustaining our democracy. You can join the movement working to clean up our political process here.