www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/insider -> www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/insider/
California Insider A Weblog by Sacramento Bee Columnist Daniel Weintraub April 13, 2004 Clock ticking, again With the latest of many supposed deadlines approaching Friday, the word out of the Capitol is that the legislative language on the close-to-done workers comp bills will materialize sometime late tonight. Conference committee hearings could be held as early as Wednesday, with floor votes by Thursday. Many Republicans still fear that the Dems will try to jam the governor with bills that dont fully reflect the terms of their deal, such as it is. But others say Schwarzenegger, having apparently gathered enough signatures to place his measure on the ballot, seems prepared to walk away if the final shape of the legislation doesnt match what he thinks the parties have agreed to. Its not clear that this deadline is any more real that previous ones. But the talk around the Capitol has the feel of reality this time around, a sense that this deal has to finally come together in the next couple of days or not at all. Posted by dweintraub at 04:49 PM DOF: March revenues up The Finance Department report on March revenues is in, and its got some dramatic news, in both directions. Income tax receipts were $314 million above forecast, and sales tax collections were also up, by $323 million. Corporate tax revenue, however, was way down, by $302 million, or 20 percent below the projection for the month. Overall, revenues in March were $406 million, or 9 percent, above forecast. Year to date, revenues are still $217 million less than was projected in January. Posted by dweintraub at 02:48 PM April 12, 2004 Boxers lead on Jones: $59 mil to $200,000 Barbara Boxer and Bill Jones will be reporting their fundraising progress in the US Senate race soon, and both jumped the gun today with press releases in advance of the official filing deadline. The news: Boxer has raised $11 million to date and has $59 million on hand for the race ahead. Jones reports raising $14 million since his campaign began, and has $200,000 on hand. That obviously wont do it for the Republican rancher and former Secretary of State. Jones announced that Anne Dunsmore, a veteran Republican fundraiser who has been finance director for Bush-Cheney in California, will be his chief fund-raiser for the Senate race. Posted by dweintraub at 03:45 PM Revenue numbers inching upward In advance of the April tax returns that will determine the states near-term fiscal fate, the treasury is getting a little bit of good news. Audits by the state Board of Equalization have turned up more than $200 million in sales tax payments from the third quarter of last year that hadnt yet been counted in state coffers, and word is that a similar amount or maybe more will materialize from a review of fourth-quarter payments. And while the states tax receipts were running $600 million below forecast in January and February, March was more encouraging. Personal income tax receipts were $300 million above forecast for the month. While much of that might be offset by declines in other revenues, theres at least a ray of hope from two straight months in which tax withholding has exceeded forecasts. In March, the growth in withholding compared to a year ago was nearly double what the Department of Finance had projected - a sign that the economy is picking up. And tax refunds, which had been running higher than projections, slowed. But if they continue through April and are accompanied by decent final payments at mid-month, the numbers might be sufficient to let the Schwarzenegger Administration goose their projections just a tad for the coming year with a straight face. Posted by dweintraub at 08:50 AM Business flight Do California companies really leave the state because of high costs and a poor business climate? Thats a never-ending question for state policymakers, and one that cant be answered statistically. LA Times business writer Don Lee takes a look at it here , talking to business owners, relocation consultants and recruiters from other states. He concludes that there is evidence for the exodus charge, and his sources suggest that the trickle might become a flood in the years ahead. Posted by dweintraub at 06:36 AM April 09, 2004 State unemployment rate climbs Californias unemployment rate inched up to 65 percent in March from a revised 63 percent in February, as employers created a net of only 5,200 jobs. Posted by dweintraub at 09:53 AM CTA drops tax increase measure The California Teachers Assn.
Although it had collected more than enough signatures to qualify for the ballot and enjoyed strong public opinion support, we feel that the new and complicated circumstances of the November ballot make it necessary to pull back this worthy initiative. Our decision is the result of a realistic assessment of the complicated nature of the November ballot. Since we began this initiative drive, nearly a dozen substantive initiatives have emerged, creating an extraordinarily more confusing November ballot. That makes our job, and even the most attentive voters job, much more difficult. The fact that the Improving Classroom Education Act is now one of five initiatives on the ballot that raises revenues for a dedicated purpose has made it even more challenging for voters to sort through the clutter. The complex nature and quantity of issues on the November ballot have also significantly raised the cost of running this initiative campaign effectively. When we began this initiative effort more than a year ago, the number one issue for voters of California was the desire to increase investments in public education. Opponents of this measure may be content with tin cup budgets for Californias public schools and children, but parents, teachers and the majority of our fellow citizens are not. It is a scandal that California public schools continue to rank well below the national average in per-pupil funding. It is a scandal that public school funding has been cut by more than $4 billion over the past two years alone, resulting in larger class sizes, fewer textbooks and materials, and thousands of teacher layoffs. And it is a scandal that California ranks in the bottom half of the nation in providing preschool to our 3- and 4-year-olds. California teachers and Rob Reiner are committed to the goals of this initiative and will continue to fight for the children of California. We believe that great rewards will come to Californias children, families, communities and economy if we make better investments in public education. In the coming weeks and months, budget decisions critical to kids futures will be made by our elected leaders in Sacramento. We will insist that further budget reductions not be made at the expense of children, and that schools, including preschools, receive their fair share of any new revenue. We will continue our fight to make education a real priority in Californias political and budget processes. We will pursue this goal with all means available, and we do not exclude mounting another ballot initiative in the future. Posted by dweintraub at 09:38 AM April 08, 2004 Hospitals pull back from phone tax Backers of a plan to raise taxes on telephone calls to pay for emergency room care say they still plan to turn in 900,000 signatures on Monday, despite the loss of a major financial sponsor: Californias hospital association. A spokeswoman for the hospitals says early polling suggests voters will be in no mood to raise taxes this fall, a sentiment that would likely doom the ballot initiative. Theres been speculation in the Capitol over the past several days that the phone tax proponents will pull back and leave their measure off the ballot. Based on their press release and my own reading of the text of the initiative, I am guessing that the alleged error is this: the measure specifically exempts owner-occupied homes from the tax increase, but not the property on which they sit. In California, land and the improvements on it are assessed separately. Here is the line exempting first homes: An owner-occupied single-family dwelling unit which is intended to be used and is used primarily as a permanent residence. Oddly,...
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