[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Asks in floor debate that Republicans reveal their budget in public for a real debate

By Frank D. Russo

They’ve added a few steps to the Assembly version of the kabuki dance today. There was a debate about taking up the budget led by the chamber’s Republican members, in particular Todd Spitzer. But the last words of the day on the floor on the budget were spoken by Budget Committee Chair John Laird, who skewered Republicans and Spitzer on their own petard.
Spitzer started off the debate on a procedural matter to bring the budget up for an immediate vote, out of its order in the file. Before his motion was defeated, this is what he said:

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Traci Sheehan
Executive Director
Planning and Conservation League

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Robert Cruickshank

Friday's news that Democrats were considering borrowing to balance the budget, specifically the plan to raid transportation and local government funds, brought a vigorous response from Democratic leaders in the legislature. Don Perata, Karen Bass, and John Laird all issued statements claiming to not support budget borrowing, although the parsing of the words matters.

Perata's statement:

“Today's Los Angeles Times story about state budget negotiations is inaccurate and misleading. Democrats have never entertained massive borrowing as a solution to this year's budget problem. In particular, Democrats have never advocated nor believed in taking money from Propositions 1A, 42 and 10."...

"Doing another get-out-of-town-alive budget would do nothing to help this state but rather would endanger Californians' standard of living and economic future."

by Robert in Monterey [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Left to Right: Senator Christine Kehoe, Senator Carole Migden, Assemblymember John Laird (Chair), Senator Sheila Kuehl, Assemblymember Mark Leno, and Assemblymember-Emeritus Jackie Goldberg

By Kyle Samia
Reporter
California Progress Report

Proposition 8, the ballot initiative seeking to amend the state constitution to exclude gay and lesbian couples from the definition of marriage, will push Californians to either make a great leap in civil rights, or take a major step backwards. Aside from the growing campaigns to defeat the initiative, and aside from the traditional, liberal spirit of California, in office are five, out LGBT leaders who have been keeping the community’s issues represented and at the table of legislative politics.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

California Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) and Senate President pro Tempore Don Perata (D-Oakland) are joining forces to make sure the state’s most urgent water projects get the funding they need. The two Democratic leaders are pushing legislation to fund water storage, reliability and conservation efforts with already approved bond money. Senator Perata’s SB1-double-X will provide more than $800-million desperately needed by water agencies to address the current water drought and fire crisis and to provide immediate investments in water supply reliability. Assembly Bill 21-75, authored by Assemblymember John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), establishes a 20 percent water conservation target for most urban water agencies by the year 2020. Here’s more in this Assembly Web Report.