by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

It's going to be a long summer—and fall, for that matter— asthe rubber hits the road on this year's budget. The Sacramento Beereports that Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill of Modesto (left)has reiterated that tax hikes are off the table for his caucus,although he gives some token acknowledgment to closing loopholes.

The San Francisco Chronicle seems to think there is a debate over Proposition 98, but it seems to us that when Pete Wilson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dianne Feinstein and the Sierra Club agree a proposition is bad news, it's probably bad news. It is interesting to note that even inBerkeley, the property owners association supports 98, which would gutrent control and most affordable housing projects.

The city of Vallejo became the first municipality in history to file for bankruptcy, despite last minute pleas from Solano County legislators Pat Wigginsand Noreen Evans, the Oakland Tribune reports. Things had gotten sobad, and the options so limited, that there was hardly a choice.

There's more... 

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

• Nunez Will Step Down Sooner Than Planned
• Cogdill New Senate Republican Leader April 15th

By Marty D. Omoto
Director/Organizer
California Disability Community Action Network

Assemblymember Karen Bass (Democrat - Los Angeles, 47th District), a former community organizer will make national history when she officially as the 67th Assembly Speaker on May 15th - four months sooner than planned, with Fabian Nunez (Democrat - Los Angeles, 46th District) stepping down after four years.

"I'm excited to be a history maker. It's an honor that my accomplishments will inspire others to get involved in the process to make change a reality," said Bass, who will become the first African American woman in US history to serve as the Speaker of a state legislature.

Assembly Speaker Nunez, who will be forced out of the Assembly at the end of November due to term limits, originally planned to stay on as the Assembly's top official until the end of the 2008 session. Nunez may possibly run for Insurance Commissioner or some other statewide office in 2010.

Cogdill Takes Over as New Senate Republican Leader Succeeding Ackerman

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

It may have gone virtually unnoticed, but Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman revealed the Republican plan to balance the budget on "Which Way L.A." His solution? "Roll back" to the 2004-05 state budget. 
 
Simple enough. 
 
So here are a couple of key highlights of the Republican budget plan:

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

The Sacramento Bee's Capitol Alert has an informative Q and A with the new Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill. In it, the Senate's new GOP chief makes it clear that schools are on the chopping block.
 
"What’s the biggest chunk you see out there -- something like here’s $800 million you can save, something large like that?

Cogdill: There are a number of those things. I don’t know that there’s anything that comes up to that large a single amount from any one area of the budget, but I do think that you definitely look at how we spend money on education in the state. Given the fact that, when you throw in higher education, it’s 50-60 percent of our spending.

So when you’ve got this type of budget problem, I don’t think you have any option but to look at the education sector of the budget. Given its size and the cumbersome nature of it, as it relates to categorical and other ways that we spend money, there’s got to be some opportunities there to find some savings."

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

When Mexico's previous president, Vicente Fox visited the California legislature in 2006, the members of the Rush Limbaugh Caucus (a.k.a., legislative Repubicans) rudely protested his visit with yellow "No Mas" buttons, while others boycotted the address. This year -- with pro-immigration reformer John McCain at the top of the GOP ticket -- it appears that legislative Republicans are changing their tune after the new Mexican President Felipe Calderon appeared before a joint convention of the Assembly and Senate in Sacramento today.
 
Gone were the buttons. And the red meat anti-immigration rhetoric -- other than that from a few fervent critics -- was also (thankfully) missing. Hats off to GOP Assembly Leader Mike Villines and Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman for helping Speaker Nunez usher in some civility toward Mexico's dynamic new leader after the embarassment of the Fox visit.
 
Even the national Fox News reporter and producer who were covering the event appeared to be stunned.
 
Calderon's speech appeared to please both sides of the aisle. "I want to assure you that Mexico does not encourage its citizens to migrate," he said."I am a President who is not glad to see Mexicans migrating to the United States."
 

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Warren Furutani Wins Special Assembly Election