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Facing the current budget deficit of $26 billion dollars, California must take action against long-standing waste, fraud and abuse—especially within In Home Support Service. Legislators in California must reform IHSS policies to ensure greater accountability to lawmakers and taxpayers. As a Sacramento Bee article entitled “Grand jury report on in-home services finds fraud, lack of county oversight” points out:
For the latest in state budget news, visit: RestoreCalifornia.com |
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Dear Friends,
I’m pleased to share that an amendment introduced by Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to the FY2010 Homeland Security Appropriations bill that would require federal contractors use E-Verify as well as make the successful program permanent passed the Senate today by voice vote.
I’m glad to see the Senate stepped up on E-Verify since Democrats in the House failed to get the job done. E-Verify works and there is absolutely no reason American taxpayer dollars used to pay federal contractors should go to employ people here illegally. I offered similar amendments to various appropriations bills and although each one faced stiff resistance from Pelosi Majority, I’m pleased to see they could no longer run from the facts. Today proponents of E-Verify claim an important victory for the program.
I offered an amendment to the Appropriations Committee mark up of the FY2010 Homeland Security Appropriations bill that would have made E-Verify a permanent voluntary program. The amendment failed on a mostly party line vote. I also offered an amendment to the committee mark up of the FY2010 Agriculture Appropriations bill which would have required entities receiving funds from the bill to participate in E-Verify. The amendment also failed on a party line vote.
Today, I could not be more pleased that the Senate has moved the issue forward and also by Secretary Napolitano’s comments that she supports the rule requiring federal contractors to use E-Verify. The tired arguments used against the program have been finally put to rest and we can now move forward on the next step: requiring all employers in the U.S. to use E-Verify. In January, I introduced H.R. 19, which would require all employers in the U.S. to use E-Verify.
To read more about today’s action on E-Verify, visit The Orange County Register where you can also take a poll on whether you think all employers should be required to use E-Verify.
Sincerely,
KEN CALVERT
Member of Congress
By Dennis Pollock
Cascading concern over California’s water crisis brought assurances from federal officials at a Fresno town hall meeting, sent thousands marching on Fresno streets and saw hundreds demonstrating in San Francisco—all in a four-day period.
By the end of last week, both the state and federal governments had announced steps intended to improve agricultural water supplies in different parts of the Central Valley, as people stepped up their calls for action.
“It’s important for Californians from all parts of the state and all walks of life to continue calling attention to the water crisis,” California Farm Bureau Federation President Doug Mosebar said. “This is not just about helping family farms and saving agricultural jobs and communities. It’s about protecting our food supply.”
For more of this article click here.
From the Riverside Press Enterprise:
Drawing the lines in 2011
The Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission will be chosen through a months-long process.
Jan. 1, 2010: Commission application process begins. Applicants, or their immediate relatives, cannot have been candidates, campaign workers, legislative staff, or given $2,000 or more in political contributions. They must have had the same party affiliation for at least the past five years. They must have voted in at least two of the past three statewide general elections.
A randomly chosen panel of three auditors — one registered Democrat, one registered Republican, one other — will review the applications.
Aug. 1, 2010: Auditor panel will begin choosing 60 most-qualified applicants — 20 Democrats, 20 Republicans, 20 others.
Nov. 15, 2010: Deadline for legislative leaders to remove up to two names from each of the three applicant groups.
Nov. 20, 2010: Auditor will randomly choose three Democrats, three Republicans and two others.
Dec. 31, 2010: The eight-member panel will choose six additional members – two Democrats, two Republicans, two others.
Sept. 15, 2011: Final maps due.
Commission members will receive $300 per diem.
Multiple public hearings.
The new districts have to meet the following criteria.
Districts need to encourage geographical compactness.
To the extent practicable, each state Senate district shall be comprised of two Assembly districts, and each Board of Equalization district shall be comprised of 10 Senate districts.
Districts shall not be drawn to favor or discriminate against an incumbent, political candidate or political party.
The three final maps must be approved by at least nine affirmative votes — at least three votes from both Republicans and Democrats and three from the other parties.
Information about serving on the Citizens Redistricting Commission is available at:
1-866-356-5217, http://www.bsa.ca.gov/redistricting, orvotersfirstact@bsa.ca.gov
SACRAMENTO – The Senate Public Safety Committee today unanimously approved Senate Joint Resolution 12 by Senator John J. Benoit (R-Bermuda Dunes) calling upon Congress and the President of the United States to restore funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistant Program (SCAAP) in the 2010 fiscal year. SJR 12 is aimed at pressuring the federal government to reimburse California for the full cost of incarcerating illegal immigrants.
“I have long pressed the case that California deserves to collect every penny of the cost of incarcerating illegal immigrants in State prison,” said Senator Benoit. “Today’s vote marks new ground in the fight for these reimbursement funds. I hope the resolution will continue to gain momentum so the State Legislature can send a clear message to our leaders in Washington.”
Since 2000, California has been forced to expend almost $9 billion out of our State budget to cover federal shortfalls on their legal obligation to reimburse our State for illegal immigrant prisoners. Last year, partial “take it or leave it” SCAAP payment left Californians paying 89% of the incarceration costs. President Obama recently proposed eliminating all SCAAP funding as part of his fiscal year 2010 budget proposal.
According to statistics obtained from the United States Department of Justice, illegal immigrants incarcerated in California prisons comprised 12 percent of the State’s prison population in 2008. Each inmate costs California taxpayers an estimated $48,536 per year to house in State prison. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spent $662.4 million housing illegal immigrants in the 2005-06 fiscal year, a cost that has risen to $970 million during this current fiscal year due to an 11 percent increase in the population of illegal immigrant prisoners.
Federal law ((8 U.S.C. 1231(I)(2))) states that when a chief executive officer of a State submits a written request to the United States Attorney General for reimbursement, the Attorney General must either enter into a contractual arrangement that provides for compensation to the State to incarcerate the undocumented criminal alien or take the undocumented criminal alien into the custody of the Federal government.
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Senator John J. Benoit, a former volunteer fire captain and 31-year law enforcement veteran, represents the 37th Senate District, which includes Anza, Banning, Beaumont, Bermuda Dunes, Cabazon, Calimesa, Canyon Lake, Cherry Valley, Corona, Desert Hot Springs, El Cerrito, Hemet, Home Gardens, Homeland, Idyllwild, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Lake Elsinore, Lakeland Village, Lakeview, March AFB, Menifee, Moreno Valley, Norco, Nuevo, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Perris, Rancho Mirage, San Jacinto, Valle Vista, Winchester, and Woodcrest. Further information regarding Senator Benoit is available on his web site at:www.sen.ca.gov/benoit.
PALM DESERT – Assemblyman Brian Nestande (R-Palm Desert) will host a Budget Town Hall on Friday, July 10, 2009 from 10:00am-11:30am at the Palm Desert City Council Chambers. This town hall is first out of a series that Nestande will be hosting around his district. It will allow citizens to voice their opinions and have their questions answered about California’s current budget situation.
“I chose to host this series of Town Halls to give my constituents a chance to voice their opinion while budget negotiations are happening,” Nestande said. “I want my constituents to be a part of the discussion.”
For those that are unable to attend, constituents can participate by filling out an online budget survey at www.asm.ca.gov/64.
To RSVP and for more information, please contact the Palm Desert Office at 760-674-0164.
What: Assemblyman Nestande’s Budget Town Hall
When: Friday, July 10, 2009, 10:00am-11:30am
Where: Palm Desert City Council Chambers
73-510 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert
Interviews, handouts and visuals will be available.
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Assemblyman Nestande proudly serves the communities of Canyon Lake, Indian Wells, Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, Riverside, Temecula, Perris, Wildomar, Winchester, Menifee, Hemet, Anza, Idyllwild, Bermuda Dunes, Mountain Center, and Woodcrest.
The Western Riverside Council of Governments awarded Supervisor Roy Wilson the Norton Younglove Air Quality Award, recognizing his achievements in improving air quality in our region. Additionally, Wilson was presented with a formal resolution from Riverside County’s representatives in the California State Legislature, applauding his career in public service.
“Improving air quality in Riverside County is vital for the physical, environmental and economic health of the Inland Empire and the desert region,” said Supervisor Wilson. “While it’s an honor to receive this award, there is still much work to be done to clean the air. I look forward to keeping air quality at the top of the region’s environmental and economic agendas.”
Wilson has served on the Governing Board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District since 1987. He currently serves as AQMD’s Vice Chairman.
Last Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors approved Supervisor Wilson’s contribution of $25,000, from the Fourth District community improvement designation funds, towards the Salton Sea Authority.
“As the Salton Sea evaporates, air quality issues stemming from the dust pose one of the greatest threats to our quality of life in the CoachellaValley,” further commented Wilson. “It is imperative that we act now to protect our desert as a world-class destination for future generations to enjoy.”
For more information about Supervisor Wilson, please visit www.rivco4.org
Roy Wilson represents the Fourth Supervisorial District. Stretching from the Palm Springs area south to the Salton Sea and east to the Colorado River, it is the largest geographical district in the County.
From the Flashreport: By Ron Nehring, California Republican Party Chairman
The ongoing battle over the state budget in California has developed into a struggle between the needs of average Californians and the unions that directly benefit from a larger, more expensive government that in this economy taxpayers can simply not afford.
California is ground zero in America’s economic crisis. A review of any data shows California families and businesses are suffering more than the nation, and on a scale that can confound observers in other states.
Housing and employment are two key indicators to economic strength, and in both areas California is lagging far behind the rest of a country that continues to be mired in recession despite four months of “stimulus” coming from Washington.
HOUSING. One in every 144 households in California are being hit with foreclosure, the second highest in the nation and trailing only Nevada. A review of the 15 cities with the greatest number of home foreclosures and upside-down mortgages shows that 9 of those 15 cities are here in California: Madera (#14, 38.4%), Bakersfield (#13, 39.1%), Yuba City (#12, 39.3%), El Centro (#11, 41.2%), Riverside/San Bernardino/Ontario (#8, 42.8%), Merced (#6, 44.4%), Vallejo-Fairfield (#5, 46.5%), Modesto (#3, 50.8%), Stockton (#2, 51.1%).
By region, the Central Valley is the hardest hit, followed by the Inland Empire counties of Riverside and San Bernardino.
EMPLOYMENT. While the national unemployment rate just hit 9.5%, a 26-year high, California is suffering a rate than is 2% higher, at 11.5% as of May. If the national unemployment rate were as high as California’s, it would trigger widespread panic and millions of additional job losses.
By contrast, as the nearby chart illustrates, the unemployment rate in Texas stands at just 6.9% — not great, but far better than the national average and more than a third lower than California’s.
It is in this economic climate that lawmakers must decide how to close California state government’s $26 billion budget deficit – with new taxes, or by bringing spending down to 2003 levels and matching economic realities.
The Milken Institute published a study last week that can provide policymakers with some insight on what will help, and hurt, California’s jobs climate. The Institute studied the reasons why California experienced a 21% decline in manufacturing jobs between 2000 and 2007, attributing the decline to “a reputation for an unfriendly business climate, comparatively high tax rates, a restrictive regulatory climate and unsustainable government spending.”
For California to recover, it’s clear we must improve the state’s tax and regulatory climate to grow and attract new businesses that can provide jobs for our people.
In recent weeks we have seen an unmatched level of Republican unity and commitment to resist any tax increase or new regulations that will further damage California’s environment for job creation. As the Milken study points out, further raising taxes or imposing even more regulations on employers only risks further erosion of the state’s economic foundation.
Democrats, by contrast, are trying to create an “alternate reality” to change the terms of debate. Instead of taxpayers versus expensive government, they try to create a parallel universe where taxes on some groups or companies somehow won’t impact the rest of the economy. They advocate for a tax on “oil companies,” for example, while ignoring the fact that their latest proposal would tack 17 cents onto the price of every gallon of gas purchased by every struggling family in California.
Fortunately, Californians are not falling for it. While the union officials stage rallies in Sacramento to raise taxes and protect unsustainable levels of government spending, a majority of Californians insist the budget be balanced mainly through spending cuts, not tax hikes.
Governor Schwarzenegger and Republican lawmakers are standing firm with California’s working families: bring the government’s spending into line with reality, and don’t punish everyday people with more taxes that we can’t afford.
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