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Archive for the 'State government' Category

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Protest backfires: State bigwigs will get early pay cut

November 20th, 2009, 12:15 pm by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer

capitol-sactoHere’s a big one for the “Oops, that sure backfired!” file:

We told you yesterday that the California Legislature quietly tried to block an 18 percent cut to its pay and perks (even as the state budget was hemorrhaging) by raising questions about the legality of such cuts. Legislators appealed to the Attorney Generalfor an opinion on whether the citizens commission that ordered the cuts had the authority to do so - and the AG said yes, yes, most certainly yes!

Those cuts were originally to take effect in December 2010, at the start of a brand new term. But the AG said, essentially, “Why wait?” The cuts can legally take effect midstream in an elected’s term, in his opinion, and so they will - beginning next month. That will save the state some $2.8 million. (A very small drop in the $21 billion bucket, but every little bit helps. See chart of officials’ salaries below.)

“In hindsight, it might have been better to let sleeping dogs lie,” said Chuck Murray, chairman of the  California Citizens Compensation Commission, which ordered the cuts, to the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Of course, this doesn’t mean the game is over. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: State government | 30 Comments »

State legislators fail to block their own pay cuts. Bummer.

November 19th, 2009, 12:50 pm by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer

capitol-sactoBy Teri Sforza and Lindsey Ambrose

Pity the poor California senators and Assembly members! Not only are they presiding over a state that seems to be spiraling down the toilet – they’re going down (some) with the ship as well.

Just one day after the Legislative Analyst’s Office announced that California is staring a new $21 billion budget deficit in the face, legislators got the really bad news: Their pay and perks can, and apparently will, be sliced 18 percent to help deal with the shortfall. (That means a drop from $116,208 to $95,291 for legislators, and from $133,639 to $109,584 for legislative leaders.)

In May, a heavy-hearted citizens’ commission ordered up the cuts (despite the incredibly good job the Legislature is doing). Then, in September, the Legislature quietly asked the attorney general whether that citizens’ commission had the legal authority to order those cuts, and offered pages of legal arguments as to why it did not. (Some cynical types interpreted that as an attempt to dodge the bullet.)

Today, though, Attorney General Jerry Brown dashed those hopes. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: State government | 19 Comments »

Oops. Correa challenger doesn’t live in Correa’s district

November 19th, 2009, 11:23 am by BRIAN JOSEPH, Sacramento Correspondent

Orange County’s corner of the political blogosphere has been abuzz with talk of a mysterious GOP candidate who has emerged as a challenger to Democratic state Sen. Lou Correa of Santa Ana.

Earlier this month, the Orange Juice Blog asked “Who is Sue Perez and why is she challenging Senator Correa?” Red County.com revealed that Perez had hired veteran political consultant Dave Gilliard, who told the blog that Perez “has 12 years of broadcast experience as host of a highly popular syndicated talk show, ‘Our Town’, watched by millions of viewers on the TBN network” and “holds a Doctorate of Ministry Degree, as well as an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice.”

In fact, Perez, a former employee of the Heritage Family Fellowship church, officially filed with the California secretary of state her intent to run for election in Correa’s 34th District in 2010.

Bloggers have wondered aloud who she is and what she hopes to accomplish. But one thing they haven’t asked is whether she actually meets the basic requirements of candidacy.

There aren’t much, but the state does require that you live in the district you want to represent. And Perez doesn’t live in the 34th District. She and her husband, Ed, live in the 33rd, which is represented by Mimi Walters. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Capitol Watchdog • State government | 11 Comments »

Don’t use the toll roads? You pay for them anyway

November 18th, 2009, 6:00 am by Jennifer Muir

roadCan’t afford to drive on the toll roads? Then chances are it’ll be decades before you’ll see some $7.3 million in federal stimulus cash at work.

That’s how much the feds are spending on asphalt improvements on the 73 — along a 12.3-mile section of the road where you can’t take your car unless you pony up lots of pocket change.

So the Watchdog called Jennifer Seaton, a spokeswoman for the Toll Road Agencies, to ask the next obvious question: If my tax dollars are paying for new asphalt on the road, then why do I have to pay again to drive on it?

(TCA is the government agency that operates the 73, 241, 261 and 133 toll roads in Orange County.)

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Federal spending • Money • State government • Traffic • Transportation | 53 Comments »

State eyeballs backtracking on Correa’s optometry law

November 17th, 2009, 5:00 am by BRIAN JOSEPH, Sacramento Correspondent

optometryA high-ranking state official indicated that California may have erred when it tried to implement Orange County State Sen. Lou Correa’s controversial bill allowing optometrists to treat glaucoma patients.

As The Watchdog reported last month, the state hired a consultant with an apparently glaring conflict of interest to draft regulations to implement Correa’s legislation. For years, optometrists — that is, the people you go to for eye exams and glasses — have been trying to convince state lawmakers that they have the training and skill necessary to work as eye physicians and surgeons, despite the fact that they receive far less schooling than ophthalmologists, who are actual medical doctors specializing in the human eye.

Correa’s legislation, Senate Bill 1406, attempted to balance optometrists’ desires with ophthalmologists’ concerns over patient safety by appointing a six-person committee to draft regulations: three optometrists and three ophthalmologists. The committee deadlocked, however, and the state hired Tony Carnevali to work out the kinks.

carnevali20tonyCarnevali (left) is an optometrist, a past president and long-time member of the Board of Trustees of the California Optometric Association and an employee of the Southern California College of Optometry, which presumably would benefit financially if the state changed the career prospects of optometrists.

Rising in protest were the California Academy of Eye Physicians & Surgeons, the American Glaucoma Society and the California Medical Association. And in a Nov. 10 letter to them, state Department of Consumer Affairs Director Brian Stiger wrote, “I understand your concern with the process by which the recommendations were made.”

Stiger goes on to request that the state Board of Optometry “re-evaluate its decision to proceed with these regulations. If the board agrees to postpone its efforts, I will immediately direct (the Office of Examination Resources) to secure a consultant who has not been an advocate with respect to the issue of glaucoma and the scope of practice of optometry.” Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Bureaucratic bungles • Capitol Watchdog • State government | 20 Comments »

You guys stink! Democrat reads riot act to fellow Democrats in state capitol

November 13th, 2009, 2:08 pm by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer

YouTube Preview ImageYou may have heard by now that things are dysfunctional in Sacramento… that the bloom is off the golden rose that is California… that we’re broke and all that.

But rarely has political paralysis been laid out as barely, as sharply, as jaw-droppingly and refreshingly, as when California Treasurer Bill Lockyer testified recently about legislative reform. It made us laugh out loud.

On reining in the public pension system and its skyrocketing costs:  ”It’s impossible for this legislature to reform the pension system, and if we don’t, we bankrupt the state. And I don’t think anybody could do it here because of who elected you. … We Democrats have to call other Democrats on it. That’s two thirds of the problem.”

On failure to lead: “People like you that should be doing the oversight so that we manage smartly aren’t. You aren’t.” Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Employee unions • State government • pensions | 62 Comments »

California’s three strikes law is nation’s toughest, and out of whack, series concludes

November 10th, 2009, 1:10 pm by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer

chemerinskyYou’ve heard that California’s prison system is reeling under the weight of the nation’s toughest Three Strikes law - which its employee union fervently backed, and which has swelled California prisons to their breaking point.

More than 15 years after voters approved it, California’s three strikes law continues to be highly controversial, and its fault lines were recently explored in a three-part series by National Public Radio.

Erwin Chemerinsky (pictured right), dean of UC Irvine’snew law school, is featured in the series. Chemerinsky was the attorney for Leandro Andrade, who was put away for 50 years to life after stealing videotapes from two different Kmart stores. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that a sentence of 50 years to life for shoplifting was cruel and unusual punishment; but the Supreme Court overturned that ruling on a 5-to-4 vote, concluding that Andrade’s sentence was not disproportionate because there was still the possibility of parole (though not until he’s 87).

Posted in: Justice • Public safety • State government • watchdog roundup | 26 Comments »

State stumbles on anti-fraud efforts for food stamps, welfare-to-work

November 10th, 2009, 5:00 am by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer

no-cheatingIf one wants to game the system, Los Angeles County may be the place to be. Potential cheats face a tougher time in Orange and San Diego counties - but California in general is in a bit of a dither when it comes to detecting fraud in its $6.4 billion welfare programs, according to the California State Auditor (welfare-fraud-full-report).

Some anti-fraud programs actually cost more than they save.

A STITCH IN TIME…

The good news: For every $1 spent on early fraud detection (i.e., nipping it in the bud as people apply) for welfare-to-work, California saves $1.35.

The bad news: For every $1 spent on early fraud detection for food stamps, California saves, um, 93 cents.

Whoops. These early detection programs cost the state $28 million.

…SAVES NINE

The picture is bleaker for late fraud detection (i.e., mounting investigations to see if aid recipients are cheating), where California spends more - $34 million - and gets less.

For every $1 spent on ongoing investigations on welfare-to-work fraud, the state saved 88 cents.

For every $1 spent investigating food stamp fraud, it saved 72 cents.

Gathering evidence for ongoing investigations costs lots, the auditor says.

FURTHERMORE….

  • Counties sometimes fail to match their welfare rolls against regularly-updated lists of people who are ineligible for benefits. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: County government • State government | 34 Comments »

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