California
The Fillmore City Council has refused a request to adopt a mobile-home initiative as a city ordinance. The freshly certified ballot initiative would establish rent control and offer ownership of condo conversions at El Dorado Mobile Estates, a 302-unit park for seniors. The initiative is sponsored by Nancy Watkins, principal owner of the mobile home park.
The Banning City Council voted Tuesday night to ban the burning of sewage sludge in the city. The vote was unanimous and was greeted with a round of applause from the audience, which had packed the council chambers. This issue stems from a proposal from a Bakersfield-based company, Liberty Energy, to build a plant in southeast Banning that would burn sewage sludge and biomass, such as lawn clippings. The developer has said it would provide electricity for the city.
As pundits continue to look at the value of the ballot initative process its refreshing to get a real prespective, that of the voter. Here is a comment from a reader of Paul Jacob’s Sunday column “Do California politicians have too little power?”
Last month California voters weighed in on - and largely rejected - a series of ballot measures that lawmakers claimed would fix the state’s budget. Among those rejected was Proposition 1B which would have funneled $7.1 billion to school funding. Even though the plan was rejected by 2/3 of voters, it looks like the state legislature wants to go ahead and do it anyway.
What is wrong with California politics? Is it the politicians, the voters, the balance of power?
Yesterday in TownHall.com Paul Jacob discussed the results of the California ballot measures and tries to answer the question, “Do California politicians have too little power?”. What are your thoughts?
It’s still too early to tell whether SLO County property owners will decide to tax themselves and expand a mosquito control program, but if votes from cities are any indication, things aren’t looking good for a new district. As property owners, local government agencies get a vote, too. Out of the seven incorporated cities in the county, three city councils cast “yes” votes on a ballot measure to expand the vector control program, which is aimed at mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, and rodents. The remaining four councils decided not to pay for the expanded program.
In the wake of its move to loan Terranea Resort $8.2 million in hotel tax revenue, the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council has moved to put a measure on the November ballot that would raise that tax rate. If approved by a majority of voters, the measure would increase the transient occupancy tax - or TOT - from 10 percent to 12 percent, putting the city’s rate in line with other coastal communities with major hotels.
Companies that take out life insurance policies on their employees and then reap the death benefits when the worker dies, would have to include those windfalls as part of their annual gross receipts and pay taxes on them, if an initiative makes the ballot, is approved by voters and survives lawsuits.
One of two rival proposed ballot initiatives that would establish rent control at El Dorado Mobile Estates in Fillmore has been declared invalid by the city attorney for failing to follow state law.
Political pundits are always trying to figure out what is “wrong” with things. They attempt to point the finger at what they don’t like to explain their point of view is correct.
It is no secret many people upset with the results of the California’s most recent ballot measures and are blaming the process. We all know “spendaholic” politicians and activists don’t like the initiative process because they can’t use taxpayer funds with unlimited discretion.
Critics of a ballot measure being pushed by Pacifig Gas & Electric say that it could kill government-run power systems. The measure, which is collecting petition signatures, would require a 2/3 majority vote before a community choice aggregation power system could be set up or extended to new customers.
The Belmont council member who proposed a ballot measure to prevent development at city parks said Wednesday she intends to collect signatures for the initiative next year after city leaders refused to place it on the November ballot.
The issue of continuing and modifying a telecommunications tax that would provide Vallejo about $5 million may join City Council elections on November’s ballot. On Tuesday, the Vallejo City Council will consider setting Nov. 3 for the citywide election, and include a ballot item about renewing a section of the utility users tax.
The council will also be revisiting proposed ballot measures to clean up the city charter. The four proposed measures will address changing Eureka’s election process to a true ward system, adding language to reflect Eureka’s ongoing efforts of environmental stewardship, enable the salaries of future mayors and council members to be periodically established by resolution of the council, and other minor cleanup provisions to the charter.
California’s ballot measures have received a lot of media attention in the last few months. Some want to blame the state’s problems on the initiative and referendum process. Paul Jacob disagrees.
In his Common Sense commentary, Prop 13 Declared Innocent, he explains why.
Prop 13 Declared Innocent.