The primary hearing on the water bond measures has moved to Monday 1 pm. I had previously been schedules for Oct. 4. Does this indicate that there have been some smoke filled room (Arnie's Cigar) deals? I don't know, but I always fear it has.
Restore the Delta is trying to get as many well informed people as possible into the hearing. If any of you know people in Sacramento, by all means call them up, send them an IM, an email, whatever. Just make sure that they hear the public's message and not the big money lobbyists.
I have not posted anything here for quite a while. Frankly, most of my political time has been spent becoming more educated on the issues surrounding California's Water Crisis. What I figured out is that it is just basic common sense.
I have been posting most of my observations on my main blog, California Greening. I have been reading Aquafornia almost every day lately. This all leads to some interesting conclusions.
(I love me some liveblogging. Just so everyone is clear: SB 840 is Keuhl's single payer bill and AB 8 is the Nunez/Perata bill that stays within the private insurance model. - promoted by juls)
Things are about to get underway as It's OUR Healthcare! will be liveblogging from the John L. Burton Hearing Room where the Senate Health Committee chaired by SB 840 author, State Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica), will meet at 1:30pm.
Senator Kuehl is setting the ground rules for the hearing. (No cheering, clapping or booing.)
Scheduled to speak are the Speaker of the Assembly Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland).
The voices of the casino workers were heard within the Capitol today. Hundreds of red-shirted workers gathered on the North steps for a rally and then marched inside in an orderly fashion to do some lobbying. The event culminated as over two hundred UNITE-HERE members chanted from the second story of the rotunda "¡Si, Se Puede!" just steps from the office of Speaker Fabian Nunez. The dome amplified the chants as staffers poked their heads out of their office doors and the CHP scrambled to ensure the direct action did not get out of control.
The events today were the last big push by the workers to ensure that workers rights were included in the Indian gaming compacts that the legislature is about to vote on. At issue are the basic workers rights protections that workers have under California law. In particular, the right to use check cards to indicate the desire of workers to form a union.
It is that exact right that is actually being heard in the U.S. Senate ironically today, as part of the Employee Free Choice Act. The Democratic leadership here in the state legislature has been indicating that they are siding with the tribes on the establishment of right to work colonies in the casinos. Dozens of labor leaders, including Working Californians' co-chairs Marvin Kropke and Brian D'Arcy signed on to a letter to Senator Perata and Speaker Nunez recently. Here is an excerpt from that letter:
The Mod Squad's actions will not be tolerated. That is the message Perata sent with the removal of Sens. Calderon and Correa from the Appropriations Committee. This is in response to their vote against Cedillo's bill on the homeless and hospitals.
Darrell Steinberg and Joe Simitian get their slots, following a Senate Rules meeting that Perata orchestrated. With these two new Senators in place, Sen. Cedillo will bring up the bill again next week and it is expected to proceed.
This is not the first time that Correa and Calderon have gotten into hot water with Perata. They came under fire for attending the fundraiser for the "Mod Squad" earlier this year. See Cap Weekly for more. (h/t to Salladay)
The May Revised budget was released by Arnold yesterday. He wants to pay off some bonds early, sell off State assets and make cuts to welfare for children, the blind and elderly. That prompted John Meyers to ask Arnold if that was like "making an extra mortgage payment when you can't pay the utility bills." Naturally, Arnold did not have a good answer, simply saying it was not an ideal situation, but he wanted to pay off more debt.
Yes, the state is facing a revenue slump for the first time in years, but like Fabian Nunez says, this budget it "mean spirited". Its priorities are out of whack.
Sounds like recipe for disaster to me. South and Rob Stutzman along with GOP Attorney Tom Hitachk and Rick Claussen have teamed up to create a proposal in case Arnold and the legislature can't come to terms. Salladay:
Broadly, the new initiative would require the state's Fair Political Practices Commission to create a citizens commission that would draw legislative lines (one version excludes Congress, another includes federal districts.) The five-member commission would hire six other people to create an 11-member panel.
Those additional panelists would include one member from academia with experience in redistricting, one attorney with the same type of experience, and four city or county elections officials - two from high-density areas and two rural. The membership would have to be balanced between Republicans and Democrats.
As Salladay points out, the FPPC is woefully underfunded as it is and would have a hard time administrating this.
Perata may be concerned that there are no other relatively minor sweeteners along with the term limits, but its just South who is teaming up with the Republicans to push redistricting.
But it doesn't appear the FPPC option would make it to the February ballot - time is running out to collect signatures.
There is major public support for single payer health care in California, according to the PPIC poll released today. Arnold is in the minority with his opposition to this concept.
Think Californians don't like taxes? Sort of. Sixty-one percent said they would prefer a "universal health care system" where everyone is covered by a government program and "financed by taxpayers," over the current system. Of course, this is a two-option choice. But 63% supported raising taxes to "guarantee health insurance for all citizens." And 54% said they would generally favor higher taxes for more services. This is good news for lawmakers such as state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, who is attempting to do just that, but also gives a little breathing room for Schwarzenegger as he attempts to surcharge doctors, hospitals and employers for his universal plan. And even larger number, 71%, said they favored Schwarzenegger's plan for shared responsibility.
The study shows real viable public support for major health care reform. Californians are willing to pay more taxes to have government run health care. They also support Arnold's plan. That may sound contradictory, but it makes one thing clear, they want something done about our current health care system. It is not working. They live with it on a daily basis and want to see change.
One of the worst parts about our current health care system is the ability of insurance companies to deny people coverage because of preexisting conditions. They are slowly turning it into a system where only healthy people can get insurance. I recently had to sign up for health insurance, luckily I am very healthy, young and do not have major hereditary problems. Others are not so lucky.
