Effort to overhaul California governance at a crossroads

Jack Chang of the Sacramento Bee notes that many of the highly touted constitutional reforms, including a convention, of recent years have stalled. "You can't underestimate the level of problems we have, and the government as currently situated does not have the tools it needs to make the reforms," said Jim Wunderman of the Bay Area Council.

A new group. the Think Long Committee, was recently founded by Nicolas Berggruen to bring matters back to the voters. He has put together a bipartisan group of high-powered players for an effort he acknowledges will take years.

Ideas abound, but it's not clear the necessary political will be found for new efforts to reform the state's outmoded constitution.

Article here.

Prop. 8 and the Rebooting California symposium

This Monday's oral argument before a panel of the U. S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the appeal of the Proposition 8 case, Perry v. Schwarzenegger, produced an issue that was discussed in the "Rebooting California" symposium. This occurred principally in the fourth panel, which was concerned with the initiative process. The issue arose in the appellate argument over whether the proposition's proponents had standing to prosecute the appeal when California's governor and attorney general had decided not to do so.

The question, as it was discussed in front of the Ninth Circuit panel, was whether the two state constitutional officers had an affirmative duty to prosecute the appeal in defense of Proposition 8. As an initiative constitutional amendment, Proposition 8 could be characterized as an expression of the will of the people acting as the ultimate sovereign of the state: "all power of government ultimately resides in the people," as the California Supreme Court has repeatedly held, most recently in Strauss v. Horton,the state court challenge to Proposition 8.

One member of the federal panel described the officers' action (or inaction) as an effective veto on the people's will as expressed in Proposition 8.

In Panel Four on Sept. 24, two speakers, Steven Miller and Christopher Elmendorf, discussed the issue of the special status of initiative enactments in the light of the "ultimate power resides in the people" theory. Their talks are available on RebootCA.org.

Rebooting panelist writes that California's 'budget gap is political, not economical'

Dan Walters, who moderated the "Fiscal and Budgetary Problems/Reforms" panel during the Rebooting California symposium, wrote in the Dec. 5, 2010 edition of the Sacramento Bee that:

The loudest voices in California's budget crisis belong to those on the political right who contend that raising taxes to cover the deficit would doom the state to perpetual recession and those on the left who argue that reducing spending would likewise devastate the economy.

The volume of those shrill arguments is rising as the Legislature reconvenes, as outgoing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger calls a symbolic special session on the budget, and as Gov.-elect Jerry Brown prepares to confront the state's most vexing political issue.

Read the complete column.

Where Are the Angry California Voters?

The New York Times focuses on California voters in its "Room for Debate" series. The Symposium's own Dan Schnur has the lead article (What Did Rage Get Us, Sept. 21), explaining why the Tea Party movement hasn't taken hold in California.

"The state is still struggling with its endemic economic and budgetary difficulties, leaving the electorate uncertain of how to fix these problems and wary of another generation of candidates making promises. We tried raging against the political machine, but we still have more than 12 percent unemployment. Now there isn't any rage left, at least not enough to fuel another populist rebellion."

Full article here.

Former Gov. Gray Davis speaks out about pension reform

Former Gov. Gray Davis, a speaker at the September 24 Rebooting CA symposium, has come out in support of pension reform:

“Pension reform is essential. You just can’t afford the benefits that have been promised because all the actuarial studies turned out to be wildly optimistic,” he said. “We have no choice now, and if I was governor, I would be doing exactly what Arnold is trying to do, which is require people to contribute more to their pensions.”

To read the rest of Davis' comments on California's pension system, click here.
To hear Gov. Davis give his keynote speech at the Rebooting CA symposium, click here to register.

Govenor Schwarzenegger on California's missing budget

The day after a California judge issued a restraining order blocking Governor Schwarzenegger's unpaid furloughs, the Governor defended his budget strategies-- which include comprehensive reform of the government employee pension system--in the LA Times.
Citing this year's $20 billion budget shortfall and California's corresponding $500 billion in government-employee pension debt (a figure six times the size of California's budget), Schwarzenegger asserted his proposed comprehensive reform of California's pension system for government employees as a means to unburden California.

"Over the next 30 years, the state will spend hundreds of billions of dollars just to service existing retirement benefit debt.... That is why I have proposed comprehensive pension reform, including rolling back benefits for new hires."

To read the rest of Schwarzenegger's thoughts on California's ailing budget--including his opinion on taxes-- click here.

Judge blocks Schwarzenegger from implementing furloughs

A California judge has issued a restraining order blocking Governor Schwarzenegger from implementing unpaid furlough days for roughly 150,000 state workers.
Schwarzenegger originally ordered the furloughs to save California's cash, especially since the state is still without a budget. The unpaid furlough days would be the equivalent of a 14% pay cut for affected state workers.
Schwarzenegger's administration claims to have the authority to implement these furloughs and will file an emergency appeal.
Read the full story at the LA Times here.