Schwarzenegger Sworn In, Rescinds Car Tax Increase

Los Angeles Times ^ | 11/18/03 | Peter Nicholas And Joe Mathews

[goldstategop]

Shortly after the 45-minute ceremony on the west steps of the Capitol, the new governor delivered on that promise, issuing Executive Order 1, which repealed the $4-billion increase that had been approved by the man he replaced — Gray Davis. It was the first of a series of rapid-fire actions meant to draw a clear contrast with a Davis administration renowned for its caution.

Schwarzenegger issued proclamations to convene a trio of special sessions of the Legislature aimed at overturning a new law that allows illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses, cutting workers' compensation costs and capping state spending. In the sessions, which will begin today, Schwarzenegger hopes that lawmakers will place two measures on the March ballot — a constitutional amendment that would cap state spending and a bond issue to pay off the deficit accumulated during the last years of the Davis administration.

Schwarzenegger also issued an order suspending 85 packages of regulations still pending from the Davis administration, and called for a review of Davis' handling of all regulations.

"Makeup, please," Schwarzenegger said while signing the repeal of the car tax hike in the governor's Ronald Reagan Conference Room. "Just joking. Very important to know, a friend of mine asked me before I left Los Angeles; he said, 'Are you going to miss the action in the movies?' I said, 'No, I am going to have enough action up in Sacramento.' Well this is action, not just dialogue, this is action." ...

The new governor also dined in the Capitol Rotunda with federal and state elected officials, where Austrian apple strudel was served for dessert. Officials from Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson (D-Culver City) to state Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks), who challenged Schwarzenegger in the recall election, warmly greeted the governor.

"I said that I believed that was the finest inaugural address of the six that I have attended and congratulated him," McClintock said after his exchange with Schwarzenegger. McClintock, however, also voiced opposition to the massive bond measure that is likely to be at the center of Schwarzenegger's approach to the state's budget problems.

Ted Costa, the anti-tax activist who drew up the original recall petition and has been critical of Schwarzenegger, praised the new governor for "saying the magic words, that he works for the people."

Costa was born in Sacramento and has lived much of his life here, but said he had never before attended an inaugural. He did not initially receive an invitation to the invitation-only swearing in, but was told over the weekend that he would get tickets. When he came to the swearing-in headquarters to pick them up, they weren't there.

Frustrated, Costa decided to attend anyway, using tickets provided by the incoming Assembly minority leader, Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield).

"I didn't want Arnold to feel slighted," Costa said

[goldstategop]

Its been a great day for California. Note the comments from Tom McClintock and Ted Costa. While I do share Tom's reservations about a bond measure, I feel it can be employed to cripple any future spending binge by the Democrats by locking them into paying off the debt first. Poetic justice? I happen to think revenge is a dish best served cold. If Arnold hews to his fiscal conservatism and turns California around, he has a bright future. For now we all revel in the fact the Gray Davis Era has finally been terminated.

[sourcery]

The car tax has been...terminated.

[goldstategop]

Sorry... the increase was rescinded. A future Democratic governor can restore the increase by administrative fiat. We need to abolish the car tax via constitutional amendment. As for the state's spending gap, the Democrats are in no position to lecture Republicans about piling on debt on a credit card. Unless Herb Wesson and John Burton have had a genuine change of heart, its the only prudent if distateful alternative to job killing tax increases. If the Democrats don't want to cut spending, I don't see why we shouldn't throw a monkey wrench into their desire to go on another spending spree. It would make the other side face up to the reality there is no money to fund everything they want and after the liberal excesses of the past 5 years, that would be a blessing in disguise for California.

[sourcery]

Yes, I know. I was using my poetic license. Fortunately, they don't tax that yet! :-)

[Consort]

Fortunately, they don't tax that yet!

But it is metered.

[truth_seeker]

"We need to abolish the car tax via constitutional amendment."

Twice I signed up at McClintock's website, to be mailed petitions. Nothing has come.

So I called the phone number, talked to a guy weeks ago, and was assured they were forthcoming. Nothing has come.

And I agree that the executive order needs proposition follow-up. Where is it?

[Fledermaus]

As is typical with liberals, all the left wing government lovers on TV could only talk about the "loss of revenue" and "where will he make it up" and "even just freezing the spending of the state will require real cuts which will HURT education".

I'm so sick of hearing these pukes and their decades old lies.

But I have to admit, they FINALLY agree that government spending is out of control and that even FREEZING the budget at current spending levels (anyone with more than the two brain cells most libs have know these levels can be easily be cut 10-20-30% with no effect on actual required services since the unionized government employees get paid off in larger salaries, pensions, more free time off and are never held accountable for their actions...they could kill each other and never get arrested) will not be enough.

But they then jump back into the "compassion" mode of whining about services they all know very well are bloated and badly managed.