In September, this column reported on the lawsuit against taxpayer and business groups brought by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Legislature seeking to have the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act (TPA) removed from the November 2024 ballot. The purpose of TPA is to restore key provisions of Prop 13 and other voter-approved ballot […]
Last week, the Sacramento Bee reported that thecity of Sacramento has been “forced to use money from [the] general fund to pay off Golden 1 Center bonds.” Golden 1 Center is the arena in downtown Sacramento known mostly for being the home venue of the NBA franchise Sacramento Kings. The predicament that the city finds […]
The deadline for Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign or veto bills sent to him by the Legislature was last weekend. Two weeks ago, this column highlighted a couple of the worst bills to get out of both houses this year. Now seems like a good time to revisit those bills and let you know how […]
This column has covered many scandals in recent weeks including the eye-popping fraud with EDD ($32 billion lost), the rampant abuse in Medi-Cal, and the nation’s highest level (by far) of unemployment insurance debt. All of this, of course, is capped off with our budget crisis when we went from a $100 billion surplus to […]
California has just asked for and received a waiver from the federal government that allows the state to skip eligibility verification for Medi-Cal. According to estimates from the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association, American taxpayers are losing more than $100 billion a year to Medicare and Medicaid fraud. In California – where the Medicaid program […]
Last week’s column was entitled, “Legislative session ends with declaration of war on taxpayers.” The war has now gone nuclear. Governor Gavin Newsom and the Legislature just filed a lawsuit, directly in the California Supreme Court, seeking to have the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act removed from the November 2024 ballot before voters get […]
It is not an overstatement to say that a supermajority in the California Legislature believes that Proposition 13 must be destroyed. Over the last five decades, Sacramento politicians have become more and more progressive – many now openly embrace socialism – but even still, we have been able to keep most direct attacks against Prop. […]
Last week, and despite the popularity of Proposition 13, the California Legislature passed two proposed amendments to the California Constitution that rip huge holes in that iconic taxpayer protection overwhelmingly approved by voters in 1978. But here’s the good news. These anti-homeowner bills must be approved at a statewide election and, given the anger from […]
Unicorns don’t exist in the real world and taxpayer heroes do not exist in the majority in the California Assembly. Despite warnings from a massive coalition of taxpayer advocates, real estate interests and business groups, 56 members of the California Legislature just passed two of the most destructive bills possible by declaring war on Proposition […]
One of the most closely watched – and hotly contested – pieces of legislation now pending in the Capitol is a direct attack on Proposition 13. Assembly Constitutional Amendment 13, until two weeks ago, was devoid of any substantive language. But it was subject to a “gut-and-amend” maneuver adding language that should alarm every California […]
