Articles for category Politics
Posted Jun 08, 2011 by
General News
State Economy
Politics
State Employees
Republican lawmakers are prepared to let voters decide whether to close California's stubborn budget deficit with higher taxes in exchange for major changes in state spending, public pensions and regulatory policies.
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Posted May 17, 2011 by
General News
State Economy
Politics
State revenue has rocketed to a projected $6.6 billion beyond expectations, a windfall that Gov. Jerry Brown wants to use to stabilize education spending and help repair California's battered finances.
In the revised budget plan that Brown released Monday, schools would receive about $3 billion that would otherwise have been deferred, aiding districts' ability to plan the academic year. The proposal also devotes some of the unanticipated money to business tax credits and to delaying a portion of the tax increases the governor had sought earlier this year. [Read More...]
Posted May 16, 2011 by
Retirees
General News
State Economy
Politics
More than a thousand teachers, state workers and others fanned out across the south lawn of the Capitol on Friday to pressure Republican lawmakers to extend expiring taxes to avoid further budget cuts.
The event capped a week of demonstrations by the California Teachers Assn., whose members lobbied lawmakers, staged rallies and, on two occasions, got arrested for refusing to leave the Capitol after the building closed. On Friday, David Sanchez, the union’s president, said that his arrest -– and those of 25 others –- brought attention to the cause of public education.
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Posted May 06, 2011 by
CalPERS
Politics
Retirement
State Employees
Battle lines sharpened Thursday over California's public pensions with the release of a new report that concludes pay and benefit packages for public workers are better than those for their counterparts in the private sector.
Commissioned by pension overhaul advocates poised to seek changes, the report drew immediate fire from public employee unions, which have muscled up to fight the emerging pension wars.
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Posted Apr 19, 2011 by
General News
State Economy
Politics
Retirement
In a victory for all public retirees, the California Supreme Court on April 13 refused to hear the County of Orange’s appeal seeking to reverse retroactive pension increases given to retired Orange County sheriffs’ deputies.
The refusal to hear the case means the decision made earlier this year by the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles stands. That court ruled the 2001 labor agreement retroactively giving Orange County deputies a 3 percent at age 50 formula for retirement is valid and does not violate the provisions of the California Constitution. [Read More...]
Posted Apr 08, 2011 by
State Economy
Politics
State Employees
Sacramento Bee
Published Friday, Apr. 08, 2011
With the budget stuck in neutral, Gov. Jerry Brown and lawmakers are leaving Sacramento to bolster their case for and against taxes.
The dueling roadshows reflect the fact that the parties remain at loggerheads after talks broke down last week. Facing a remaining $15.4 billion deficit, Brown is still seeking an election on taxes.
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Posted Apr 08, 2011 by
General News
State Economy
Politics
As Brown launches a road trip in a quest for public support, some of his most ardent supporters are wondering if he’ll sell his budget plans by moving to the right – too far to the right.
The issue arises after the Democratic governor proposed changes in the public pension system, including many that have been demanded by Republicans or already contained in GOP-authored legislation. Some were presented as ideas, worded vaguely and signaling a starting point for negotiations.
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Posted Mar 16, 2011 by
CalPERS
Retirees
Politics
Retirement
Shaken by a report alleging wrongdoing by former top officials, directors of the California Public Employees' Retirement System voted to push for legislation curtailing gift-giving to public employees and limiting board members and executives from going to work for companies doing business with the pension fund. [Read More...]
Posted Mar 03, 2011 by
CalPERS
Retirees
State Economy
Politics
State Employees
Lawmakers on Wednesday reacted skeptically to a controversial new proposal to lower public employee pensions throughout state and local government.
"Frankly, I just don't see this happening," said Sen. Alex Padilla during a joint meeting of Assembly and Senate committees that oversee public employee compensation.
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Posted Feb 02, 2011 by
Politics
Sacramento Bee
A Santa Barbara-based organization that wants to end union representation of California government employees has revved up its campaign contribution collection machinery for a run at putting the idea to a statewide vote.
Although Secretary of State records indicate that Californians for Public Union Reform hasn't reported that it has taken in any money yet -- it just filed with the state last week -- it is positioning itself to accept contributions with an aim toward putting an initiative on the ballot next year.
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Posted Jan 11, 2011 by
State Economy
Politics
Medi-Cal patients would have new mandatory co-pays and limits on their prescriptions and doctor visits.
Doctors and nursing homes would be hit with a 10 percent cut in Medi-Cal reimbursements.
And state funding for adult day health care would be eliminated, making it tougher for thousands of frail seniors to remain in their homes.
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Posted Dec 16, 2010 by
Politics
When Governor-elect Jerry Brown told me at a recent fundraiser that he intended to defend the defined benefit pension system, I was reassured that CSEA Retirees had made the right decision to support Brown in the November election.
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Posted Nov 04, 2010 by
Politics
The most expensive non-presidential race in U.S. history ended Tuesday with Democrat Jerry Brown back in the Governor's Office after surviving more than $160 million in campaign spending by Republican Meg Whitman.
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Posted Oct 11, 2010 by
Politics
The race for California governor will be very close, agree all of the election pollsters.
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Posted Oct 11, 2010 by
Politics
It was another prolonged Sacramento production, full of bickering, posturing and inaction that led to the latest state budget in modern history and provided a convenient target for the gubernatorial candidates, who say things would be different if they were in charge.
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Posted Oct 08, 2010 by
State Economy
Politics
Retirement
State workers hired in mid-November and later will have to wait longer to get their pensions – and those pensions will be smaller – under terms of the budget bill lawmakers plan to vote on today.
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Posted Oct 08, 2010 by
Legislation
Politics
On the 99th night of the fiscal year, California lawmakers were still debating late Thursday whether to pass a budget, already the latest spending plan in state history.
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Posted Oct 07, 2010 by
Legislation
Politics
The Schwarzenegger administration and Service Employees International Union Local 1000 have just announced a tentative labor agreement that includes higher employee contributions to their retirement plans and rolls back pension formulas for new hires to pre-1999 levels.
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