[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

As the mortgage meltdown in America continues to cause stress and strain for thousands of families, Assembly Democrats in the California State Legislature are working to reform the mortgage industry, hoping the proposed regulations will mitigate the financial pain. Led by Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) and Assemblymember Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), Assembly Democrats have crafted a package of legislation design to change the way home loans are prepared and implemented. Here’s more on the Assembly Democrat’s mortgage crisis relief and reform package in this Assembly Web Report.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

State Senator Sheila Kuehl's single payer health care bill would cost California more than $210 billion and leave the state saddled with more than $40 billion more in debt in one year, according to a report by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst noted in an article today by the Sacramento Bee's Dan Weintraub.

That compares to the LAO's projection of a $1.5 billion deficit from legislation passed by Assembly Democrats and favored by Gov. Schwarzenegger. That legislation died in Senator Kuehl's Health Committee, with several senators expressing concerns about that cost.

To put that in perspective, the state is currently wrestling with a $17 billion operating deficit. And no one seems to know how that gap will be closed. Kuehl's single-payer bill would more than double that debt.

Weintraub notes that "Kuehl's current bill does specify a financing scheme," and the Senator admits the financing would be impossible to get through the legislature.

There's more...

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

How tax justice in California could erase deficit with $20 billion in new revenues

By Lenny Goldberg
Executive Director
California Tax Reform Association

Despite a huge budget deficit, California’s tax system leaves out opportunities to increase revenue through the closing of loopholes, exclusions, and the implementation of progressive taxation alternatives. When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cut billions in revenues and borrowed to cover the previous deficit, the burden of cuts was shifted to the state’s vital services, including education, health care, public safety and programs for the poor.

Though the state always faces deficit problems during an economic recession, the vast scope of this year’s $17.2 billion deficit stems directly from the governor’s cuts in revenue and the resulting costs of borrowing. So, where are the revenue sources to make up the difference?

Taxing oil shot down once

California is the only state in the country without a production tax on oil, and taxes oil far, far lower than any state — less than any place in the world our research shows. Two months ago, Assembly Democrats tried to do just this, but were shot down by Republican legislators.

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Assembly Republicans yesterday voted in lockstep against a plan advanced by Assembly Democrats to provide assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure.
 
AB 2509, authored by Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani (D-Livingston), was passed by a 45-26 vote, with all "no" votes from Republicans. Six Republicans also abstained, despite being in the Assembly chamber.
 
"President Bush bailed out the billionaires at Bear Stearns, but Assembly Republicans won't lift a finger to help out the hundreds of thousands of homeowners facing foreclosure on their homes," said Sen. Art Torres (Ret.), Chairman of the California Democratic Party. "The Republicans’ votes are a slap in the face to Californians who are struggling in the Bush economy and may lose the roof over their heads.”

There's more...

Image courtesy Time Magazine.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

In this week’s Democratic weekly radio address, Assemblymembers Mark DeSaulnier (D-Martinez) and Juan Arambula (D-Fresno) celebrate Bike-to-Work Day on Friday, May 16 by highlighting what Assembly Democrats are doing to promote bicycle safety and encouraging all Californians to consider bicycles as a mode of transportation to reduce congestion, clean the air, and improve individual health.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

In the Democratic weekly radio address, Assemblymember Juan Arambula (D-Fresno) presents the Assembly Democratic plan to proactively invest in high-quality sustainable jobs to help grow California’s economy while respecting our environmental legacy.

You may listen in English or Spanish. The transcript is below.

Hello, this is Assemblymember Juan Arambula, Chair of the California Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy.

As too many Californians are well aware, recent years have seen a slowdown in job growth throughout the country.

And California’s unemployment rate just hit 6.2%.

What we need now is bold leadership that will connect Californians with the jobs of the 21st century.

If we do nothing, California stands to lose its pivotal global role in the design and manufacture of technologies.

So I, along with my fellow Assembly Democrats, have introduced Assembly Bill 2711 which would implement a proactive, aggressive, and comprehensive strategy for supporting technology-based industries.