Governor Brown Does More Damage

In 1975, Jerry Brown was first elected Governor of the State of California. He was sworn in with a $6 billion surplus. By the time he left office in 1983, he left California in “full-blown financial crisis” (Sacramento Bee) with a billion dollars in debt. Later as Mayor of Oakland, he entered office in 1999 where education and crime got much worse by the time he left in 2007.

Fast Forward to 2011.

Jerry Brown’s first act as Governor of California (the second time) was to work toward eliminating California’s $28 billion deficit by eliminating the Inspector General and saving $700,000 a year. Just in case you are too lazy to do the math, he was saving .0025%. In other words, he would have to eliminate 40,000 departments at $700,000 each to fix the budget crisis in California. At that rate, it would take 110 years if he eliminated one a day. No big deal. But in eliminating the Inspector General’s position, he eliminated Laura Chick.

Who is Laura Chick? Laura Chick, perhaps the finest Democrat in the nation, is a relentless government watchdog that is known for identifying government waste, bucking her own political party and saving taxpayers millions upon millions of dollars. Governor Brown saw her as a nuisance. So, in his first act as Governor, he eliminated the one person who could actually save California millions and even billions in the federal stimulus money she was overseeing – so that he could see $700,000 in immediate savings.

After such a counter-intuitive move, Californians braced themselves for the second coming of Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown… and what could we expect when this state’s far Left Democratically-controlled legislature put bills on his desk for his signature?

Over 600 bills were sent to Governor Brown and he had until last night, October 9, 2011, at midnight to sign or veto the bills. What more counter-intuitive laws would Governor Brown impose on Californians?

At the top of his list was AB 6, a law he signed that eliminates the requirement that food stamp recipients be fingerprinted. Advocates say many people are “afraid” to be fingerprinted and therefore their families are starving. Opponents suggest two things: (1) Why should California taxpayers be put in a position to feed criminals and illegals? (2) This is just going to open this up to more fraud and abuse, just like what I recently reported in my article titled, “Subsidizing Obama Voters” on July 11, 2011. Advocates say this will help 3 million people eligible food stamps that are not participating. So, an additional 3 million at $35.00 per week comes out to approximately $5.5 billion in new and additional spending from an already broke state.

Not only is Brown setting up Californians for a necessary tax hike in the future, he signed legislation that will make our health care costs rise, our insurance costs go up and our paychecks go down. Brown signed SB 299, a bill that forces employers to provide and pay for maternity care under group insurance plans. It’s specious and the employers will pay the additional benefit on the backs of employees, including single males, who share in the costs, ultimately reducing their wages.

In addition, Brown signed SB 621, legislation “protects” consumers from discretionary clauses in life, health, and disability insurance policies. Proponents of this bill are the very people who believe the worst in insurance companies and vilify them at every turn, namely California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. In addition, Brown signed SB 946, a law that requires health insurances to cover autism therapy. Opponents say that health insurance is designed to cover medical costs associated with illness and accidents, not for developmental disorders. The end result with this will be higher insurance costs across the board. You think Health Insurance is expensive now? Just wait until all this kicks in.

As if just the few items I noted weren’t enough, Governor Brown signed several bills that will hurt business, which will result in less commerce and less revenue to pay down our state debt.

In SB 746, Brown signed legislation that prohibits those under 18 from using indoor tanning beds. Industry groups say that is upward toward 10% of their clientele. So, imagine you own one of these businesses; the Governor effectively reduced your income by 10% with a swipe of a pen. Not only that, the Governor reduced that additional revenue coming back to the state to help pay down the debt.

In 922, Governor Brown signed legislation that essentially ends bans on union-friendly pacts known as Project Labor Agreements (PLA). What are PLAs? In essence, they are a pre-hire contract between labor and management that governs pay rates, benefits, work rules, and dispute resolution, and guarantees that workers will perform most efficiently during the project. PLAs are widely used in the public and private sectors for construction of everything from schools to courthouses to reservoirs to sports stadiums. The impact from stopping communities that reject these Big Labor tactics will be an immediate lack of competition and additional costs to both governments and to private developers… which result in a great impact on public debt and higher costs for consumers. Also, it will hurt those “mom and pop” independent and subcontractors whose sole business is dependent on their ability to competitively price jobs.

Not to be outdone by any of the others, Brown signed the AB 131, otherwise known as “The Dream Act.” What this does is allow illegal aliens, people who cut in front of another immigrant who is trying to come to this country legally, to apply for state-funded college financial aid. It is expected to cost more than $40 million dollars. But the fact that it is going to add debt to a cash strapped state isn’t even the biggest crime, it’s the fact that for every dollar the state of California pays to illegal aliens, it is going to take away financial aid from actual U.S. citizens and legal immigrants.

It doesn’t matter how its cut, Governor Brown is proving to be the same kind of Governor that he was in the first time around. He talks a good game, but in the end, he’s going to leave this state in much worse shape than when he started.

Where’s Laura Chick when you need her? Oh yeah, Governor Brown fired her.

_________________________________________________________

Here’s an incomplete, yet pretty comprehensive, list of bills that Governor Brown has signed and vetoed that I’ve compiled:

SIGNED:

AB 6. Fingerprinting: Eliminates requirement that food stamp recipients be fingerprinted. AB 6, food stamp recipients will no longer be forced to be fingerprinted — something that health advocates say frightened away eligible families from the program, now called CalFresh.

AB 9 by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) – Pupil rights: Forces local schools to adopt a state-created agenda, create programs and track stats in an effort to curb bullying.

AB 22 by Assemblymember Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) – Employment: credit reports.

AB 25, which requires schools to remove from play any athlete suspected of sustaining a concussion. A concussed athlete could not return to play until being cleared by a medical professional

AB29 by Assembly Speaker John Perez to establish the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development to help lure and create jobs. Job growth has been at the forefront for state leaders as California continues to struggle with a 12.1 percent unemployment rate, the second highest in the nation after Nevada.

AB 42. Assemblyman Jared Huffman’s Assembly Bill 42 authorizes the California Department of Parks and Recreation to enter into agreements with the nonprofits.
Seventy state parks are scheduled to close next summer because of the state budget deficit. AB 42, by Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, which would allow nonprofit groups to operate state parks if the parks are slated for closure next year as part of state budget cuts.

AB 131. Immigrant students: Allows illegal immigrants to apply for state-funded college financial aid.

AB 144 by Assemblymember Anthony Portantino (D-Pasadena) – Firearms. Ban the public display of unloaded weapons. Exempts peace officers, military events, gun shows and hunting. The Second Amendment (Amendment II) to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms.

AB 183 by Assemblymember Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco) – Alcoholic beverage licenses: self-service checkouts.

AB 194, which requires the California State University and community college systems to grant registration priority to current and former foster youth. The law does not apply to the University of California, but asks that the UC system adhere to it where possible

SB 226, which streamlines some permitting requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act for certain solar energy projects already approved by state energy regulators

AB 242 by Committee on Revenue and Taxation – Taxation.

AB 353 Impounding cars: Block police from impounding cars at checkpoints because a driver is unlicensed. which prohibits local police from impounding vehicles at sobriety check points just because the driver was found to be without a license;

AB 361 by Assemblymember Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) – Benefit corporations.

AB 376. Shark fins: Ban possession, sale of shark fins in California.

AB 378, authored by Assembly Insurance Chair Jose Solorio. This measure brings compound drugs under the pharmacy fee schedule.

AB 395, which makes permanent statewide testing in newborns for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID), a.k.a. “Bubble Boy Disease.”

AB 499 STDs: Allow minors to get pre-emptive treatment of sex diseases without parental consent. allowing children 12 and older to receive vaccinations to prevent HPV (human papillomavirus) without parental consent. The bill slipped through the Legislature without fanfare, but the issue became a focal point during the Republican presidential primary when U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann criticized Texas Gov. Rick Perry for signing a similar bill;

AB 506, which requires local governments to take certain steps before they can file for bankruptcy;

AB 604 by Assemblymember Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) – Needle exchange programs. A signing mesage can be found here.

AB 641 by Assemblymember Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) – Long-term care.

AB 648. Commutation: Gives victims and families 10-day advance warning when a prisoner seeks shortened sentence. Introduced after former Gov. Schwarzenegger shortened the sentence for the son of a political ally involved in a killing at San Diego State University.

AB 735, which requires state agencies to give current and former foster youth preference in the hiring of interns and student assistants

AB 771, a bill that prevents home buyers in a common interest development (CID), such as a condominium or townhome, from being charged excess document fees. Assembly Bill 771 (Betsy Butler, D-Torrance) addresses this situation by specifying that only fees for the required documents may be charged when such documents are provided, effectively prohibiting any “bundling” of fees for other documents with these fees. The bill also creates a new form detailing which documents are required, and requires the provider to disclose the fees that will be charged for the documents before they are provided. The seller of a CID must complete this form and transmit it to the prospective purchaser along with the required documents. This will eliminate any uncertainty for the prospective purchaser as to exactly which documents are being provided and the precise fees being charged for those documents.

AB 809 by Assemblymember Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) – Firearms. A signing message can be found here. Require state to keep records on rifle sales.

AB 882 by Assemblymember Paul Cook (R-Yucaipa) – Veterans and military: public postsecondary education.

AB 1069 by Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes (D-Los Angeles) – Income taxes: credits: film: extension.

AB 1097, which permits public transit systems to set their own requirements for the minimum percentage of American-made content and components in federally funded buses and rail cars. The law allows those systems to bypass the federal minimum of 60 percent

AB 1156 by Assemblymember Mike Eng (D-Monterey Park) – Pupils: bullying.

AB 1215. Car buying: Allows auto dealers to charge buyers at least $25 more for documentation fees.

AB 1247 by Assemblymember Nathan Fletcher (R-San Diego) – Public retirement systems: reporting.

AB 1307 by Assemblymember Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) – State Board of Equalization: administration: collections.

AB 1319. Baby bottles: Bans baby bottles and sippy cups made with the toxic chemical Bisphenol A. AB 1319, by Assemblywoman Betsy Butler, D-El Segundo, which banned the use of the chemical bisphenol A in baby bottles and sippy cups. The chemical has been linked to breast cancer and developmental problems in laboratory rats. The chemical and grocery industries staunchly opposed the bill, saying the levels that humans are exposed to are so minuscule that they are safe.

AB 1352 by Assemblymember Dan Logue (R-Chico) – Taxation: vehicle license fees.

AB 1417 by Assemblymember Isadore Hall (D-Los Angeles) – Tribal gaming: local agencies. A signing message can be found here.

AB 1424. Tax scofflaws: Those on the state’s delinquent list risk losing their driver’s license unless they enter into tax payment plans. Starts July 1, 2012.

SB 15 by Senator Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) – State budget.

SB 26. And Executive Order B-11-11, to help deprive criminals and gang leaders in California’s prisons of one of their favorite means of organizing criminal activity: the contraband cellular phone. Brown said these measures would help “break up an expanding criminal network” that uses cellular phones to plan crimes both inside and outside of prison walls.

SB 41 by Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) – Hypodermic needles and syringes.

SB 183 by Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) – Ballots: identifying information.

SB 201 by Senator Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) – Flexible purpose corporations.

SB 202. Elections: Requires all statewide ballot measures go before voters in November elections.

SB 222 and AB 210. Maternity: Related bills to require insurers issuing individual policies to include maternity coverage as of July 1.

SB 226, by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, which would streamline rules on environmental impact reports for solar energy projects and in-fill development.

SB 292 and SB 900. Stadium construction: Expedites environmental reviews and settles legal challenges to proposed Los Angeles stadium and other big-ticket projects, including a possible new home for the Chargers and convention center in San Diego.

SB 299. Maternity: Prohibits employers from refusing to provide and pay for maternity care under group insurance plans.

SB 502 by Senator Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), the Hospital Infant Feeding Act. This bill will help hospitals promote breast feeding.

SB 550, which allows Golden State police to make warrantless searches of plants that make commercial copies of compact discs and movie DVDs to ensure they are not illegally copying entertainment discs. Violators face large fines

SB 563. One of the tools that Boards have often used to efficiently handle issues that were not the subject of debate has been the Action Without Meeting, or “AWOM”. Well, no more. California Governor Jerry Brown has now signed, bill SB 563 which becomes effective January 1, 2012, and amends the Open Meeting Act to eliminate a Board’s ability take action without a meeting. In addition to eliminating the AWOM, SB 563 also requires that members of the association be given at least two days notice for a meeting that will be held solely in executive session, and changes the rules for holding a meeting via teleconference. Under the new law, if a Board meets via teleconference, the Association must specify a physical location where members can attend in person and listen to the meeting. In addition, at least one Board member must be physically present at the identified meeting location.

SB 602. Privacy: Requires authorities to obtain a court order before accessing book sale records from book stores and online retailers.

SB 610 by Senator Roderick D. Wright (D-Los Angeles) – Firearms: license to carry concealed firearm.

SB 617. Senator Fran Pavley’s bill to help spur job creation and improve California’s business climate has been signed by Governor Brown. SB 617, jointly authored by Senator Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) and Senator Ron Calderon (D-Montebello), implements significant new regulatory reforms that are key to luring new businesses to the state and growing existing business here in California. The measure had previously passed the Senate and Assembly with bipartisan support. “I had no doubt Governor Brown would sign this important job creator,” said Senator Pavley. “Many regulations in our state are important safeguards for our air, or water and the health of our citizens. But wecan protect Californians, the environment, workers, and public health while making it easier and less expensive to do business in California.” SB 617 requires state agencies to complete a more rigorous assessment of the economic impacts, including the benefits, of major regulations before they are adopted. This measure applies to regulations that are estimated by the Department of Finance to cost more than $50 million. The assessment would focus on how proposed regulations would impact: investment in California; incentives for innovation; creation of new businesses in California; creation or elimination of jobs; and, equally importantly, the health, safety and welfare of the public, workers, and the environment.

SB 621. Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones today applauded Governor Jerry Brown for signing legislation protecting consumers from “discretionary clauses” in life, health, and disability insurance policies. SB 621, authored by Senate Insurance Committee Chair Ron Calderon (D-Montebello) and sponsored by Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, makes discretionary clauses in new or renewed policies void and unenforceable. Discretionary clauses are policy provisions that give the insurer the sole discretion to interpret the policy and to decide if an insured is entitled to benefits. Even if a consumer has a doctor certify that they are disabled and entitled to benefits, with a discretionary clause in the insurance policy, the insurance company can substitute its own decision that the consumer is not disabled and deny him or her the disability insurance they or their employer paid for. Insurers use the discretionary clauses to deny claims, knowing that if challenged the consumer has a very high and insurmountable legal burden to overcome to prove that the insurance company acted arbitrarily.

SB 644 by Senator Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) – West Contra Costa Healthcare District: certificates of participation: lien.

SB 746 Tanning beds: Prohibit those under 18 from using indoor tanning beds

SB 768. Male circumcision: Bars local governments from banning the procedure. Assembly Bill 768 by Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles, was inspired by a San Francisco ballot measure designed to prohibit child circumcision there. A judge in July ordered the circumcision ban off the November ballot, but Gatto’s bill proceeded through the Legislature, where it passed with unanimous votes.

SB 819 by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) – Firearms.

SB 922. Labor agreements: Seeks to thwart blanket bans on labor-friendly pacts known as project labor agreements. Impact on a June San Diego ballot measure that would prohibit these agreements is under legal review.

SB 929. Car seats: Children must be strapped in until age 8. Children 4 feet 9 inches or taller are exempt. SB 929, by Sen. Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, which requires children up to 8 years old to ride in booster seats in vehicles unless they are 4-feet-9 or taller. Current law requires children up to age 6 to ride in booster seats.

SB 946 Health: Require insurers to cover autism therapy.

VETOED:

AB 101. Unionized child care: Allow workers who provide child care at home to unionize. Would have affected about 100,000 people, including those who receive state subsidies and relatives. Assembly Bill 101, sponsored by SEIU and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, was amended at the legislative deadline to include language by Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles, and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento. The bill would have affected licensed family child care providers who provide care in their homes and certain license-exempt providers, including relatives and neighbors who receive state subsidies to provide care. The bill would have allowed unionized providers to negotiate increased reimbursement rates for state-subsidized child care assistance starting in 2014. The bill’s supporters said low wages and benefits have forced many home child care providers out of business, limiting supply. The bill’s opponents said higher, negotiated rates could drive up child care costs statewide.

AB172, which would have set up a new website publicizing government contracts and audits. Instead, Brown issued an executive order asking agencies to post contracts and audits on existing websites;

AB 275 by Assemblymember Jose Solorio (D-Santa Ana) – Rainwater Capture Act of 2011. A veto message can be found here.

AB325, which would have required private businesses to provide bereavement leave. In his veto message, Brown said he believes the vast majority of businesses provide bereavement leave, but that a mandate would “add a more far reaching private right to sue than is contained in related statutes.”

AB 568, by Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, which would have prohibited prison guards from shackling pregnant inmates unless necessary. “At first blush, I was inclined to sign this bill because it certainly seems inappropriate to shackle a pregnant inmate unless absolutely necessary,” Brown said in a veto message. “However, the language of this measure goes too far, prohibiting not only shackling, but also the use of handcuffs or restraints of any kind except under ill-defined circumstances.”

AB 767 by Assemblymember John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) – State Capitol Sustainability Task Force. A veto message can be found here.

AB 1210 by Assemblymember Martin Garrick (R-Carlsbad) – Water quality: stormwater discharge: civil engineering activities. A veto message can be found here.

SB 14 by Senator Lois Wolk (D-Davis) – State Budget. A veto message can be found here.

SB 28. Cellphones: Raise fines for driving while talking or texting on handheld devices. Also would have banned bicyclists from talking on cellphone while riding.

SB 29. California Governor Jerry Brown (D) sided on Friday with red light camera companies and the remaining municipalities that use automated ticketing machines. He vetoed a measure that would have placed the mildest of restrictions on photo ticketing. “I am returning Senate Bill 29 without my signature,” Brown wrote in his veto message. “This bill standardizes rules for local governments to follow when installing and maintaining red light cameras. This is something that can and should be overseen by local elected officials.” The state Senate will now decide whether to override Brown’s veto. The bill passed the body by a 38-0 vote on September 1, a more than sufficient amount. It sailed through the state Assembly by a similarly large 70-4 vote on August 30.

SB 105. Helmets while skiing: Require those under 18 to wear helmets on the ski slopes. A law requiring kids to wear ski helmets was vetoed by Gov. Brown on Wednesday, just as his predecessor Gov. Schwarzenegger did almost a year ago.

SB 416 by Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) – Health: survey. A veto message can be found here.

SB 427 by Senator Kevin De León (D-Los Angeles) – Ammunition and firearms. A veto message can be found here.

SB 469 by Senator Juan Vargas (D-San Diego) – Land use: development project review: superstores. A veto message can be found here. Walmart: Require a detailed economic impact study before local governments can approve certain big-box stores by Walmart and others. It grew out of San Diego where the City Council passed a similar ordinance, but rescinded it after Walmart qualified a referendum for the ballot.

SB 508 by Senator Lois Wolk (D -Davis) – Income and corporation taxes: credits: information and operative time period. A veto message can be found here.

SB 547. School testing: Broaden school assessment from solely focusing on test scores.

SB 676, by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would have created an eight-year, pilot program for the cultivation of industrial hemp in Imperial, Kern, Kings and San Joaquin counties.

SB 702. Pet microchips: Require microchipping of pets when released from a shelter.

SB 833 by Senator Juan Vargas (D-San Diego) – Solid waste: disposal facilities: San Diego County. A veto message can be found here. Gregory Canyon: Block development of the Gregory Canyon landfill in north San Diego County. Bill was backed by the Pala Band of Mission Indians.

SB 847. Marijuana: Prohibit dispensaries from opening within 600 feet of a residence. Brown said it would have infringed on local control.

SB 888. Military funerals: Limits on protests at funerals. Bill was in response to small Kansas church disrupting military funerals as a way to promote an anti-gay message.

SB 931 by Senator Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) – Payroll cards. A veto message can be found here.

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