[courtesy of California Progress Report]

In this week’s Democratic weekly radio address, Speaker-elect Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) and Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes (D-Sylmar) explain how closing Big Oil tax loopholes will keep class sizes small for California students.

You may listen in English or Spanish or read the transcript below.

Hello, this is Assembly Speaker-elect Karen Bass.

This year, California faced a $15 billion budget deficit, but through a combination of spending cuts and other measures, legislative Democrats worked with our Republican colleagues to cut that deficit in half.

Legislative Democrats understand the severity of the budget crisis means difficult choices must be made, and we’ve had to swallow cuts on many vital services.

But to balance the remaining $7.5 billion budget deficit through across the board cuts, without bringing in new revenue as the Republicans have proposed, would bring too much harm to the state.

Take education.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By David Dayen
d-day

This is a really big deal.

Hundreds of students have walked out of their classes in Alameda in a protest over the state's proposed budget cuts.

Students from Encinal High School marched off campus and straight to the school district's headquarters.

Tuesday night, the district school board voted to cut $200,000 out of sports programs and to increase class sizes on some campuses to save money.

This got national cable news coverage today, by the way.

I'm not saying this is akin to protesting the draft in the Vietnam War era, but the similarity is that when you threaten the livelihood of a whole mass of people, you awake a sleeping giant. And society actually has a compelling interest in providing a full platter of school programs to create a well-rounded and engaged class of young people. It won't be long before these students are joined by teachers and parents on the streets.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By David Dayen
d-day

The headline, State Democrats determined to raise taxes, is kind of ridiculous, but the meat of the story indicates that Democratic leaders are drawing a line in the sand.

“Democratic legislative leaders declared this morning that they are prepared to delay the state budget this year if that's what it takes to get tax increases, which they called the only reasonable solution to California's multibillion-dollar shortfall.

"This is going to be the fight of a lifetime," Senate leader Don Perata (D-Oakland) declared at a news conference on the steps of a Sacramento high school that faces teacher layoffs and bigger classes under the governor's proposed budget, which closes the deficit with spending cuts, borrowing and deferrals.

"We are not going to be going anywhere this summer," he said, referring to the annual midyear process of trying to agree on a budget by the July 1 start of the new fiscal year. "I told everybody that wants to go to the Democratic [National] Convention, ... TiVo it. That is close as you are going to get."

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

California legislative Democrats and Republicans joined in today and passed by large margins painful cuts in state spending to turn a $3.7 billion hole in this fiscal year’s spending ending in June into what may be a $1 billion reserve. Laws that require payments in health and human services, and in other areas were also revised that will reduce the problems for the next fiscal year from a deficit of about $15 billion to about 7 or 8 billion dollars.

The debate was fairly harmonious in the Assembly where the leadership of both parties and the members recognized that quick action needed to be taken to avoid insolvency. Most of the bills passed by large margins in the Senate as well—although the debate itself was more intense, personal, and partisan.

We are in very difficult times as a state. As early as next week, when the Legislative Analyst’s Office issues a new report, there may be more bad news and the combination of cuts and revenue enhancements that will need to be made is expected to increase once again as California’s economy and tax collections weaken. It is going to get even uglier.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

It was report card day at the State Capitol today, as the California League of Conservation Voters gave Governor Schwarzenegger and the California legislature 2007's environmental scorecard. 29 Assembly Democrats and 11 Senate Democrats -- including Speaker Fabian Nunez, Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, and Assembly Majority Leader Karen Bass -- earned a perfect 100% this year, while no legislative Republican earned above a 50%. In fact, while Assembly and Senate Democrats averaged a commendable 94% and 89% respectively, Assembly and Senate Republicans averaged an embarrassingly low 5% and 9% respectively. Meanwhile, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger averaged 63%, his highest score yet. While the Governor still trails almost all legislative Democrats, he nonetheless is clearly much closer to mainstream California than his GOP party mates on the other side of the Capitol.

Where do the so-called moderates of the GOP stand? Senator Abel Maldonado takes top honors among legislative Republicans, clocking in at 43%. Maldonado is followed by Senator Tom Harman at 19%. Senator Jeff Denham, Assemblymember Bonnie Garcia, and Assemblymember Shirley Horton all scored 10%, revealing a voting record more aligned with the far-right of their party than with the consensus-minded image they like to present to their districts.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

I wonder how many of the hardworking rank-and-file members of the California Nurses Association know that the organization pays Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro $207,403 plus another $10,333 in expenses -- and has made a $75,000 "gift" to the nonprofit Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights that is being used to attack Democrats in favor of health care reform?

Somehow I don't think they'd be too pleased their dues were going to their leadership's pockets instead of fighting for health care form.

DeMoro's sky-high salary is accompanied by a bloated payroll that also includes $126,811 for its Government Relations Director Donna Gerber (a former failed Assembly candidate). Gerber was the only person to testify against AB 8, the Nunez/Perata health care plan supported by nearly all legislative Democrats.

CNA's expense report also includes expenses at fancy hotels such as the Beverly Hills Hilton, Seascape Luxury Resort in Aptos ("Like Having Your Own Beach Home on Monterey Bay"), Millennium Biltmore in Los Angeles, and the cozy Villa Rosa in Santa Barbara. Thousands more were spent on several public relations and advertising consultants.