BUDGET UPDATE

California Republic ^ | 07-27-2007 | Tom McClintock

[Amerigomag]

The Senate did not meet again today, and that’s a big mistake.

We are running a very real risk of another Gray-Davis-sized fiscal crisis next year and for exactly the same reason: the governor increased spending much too fast, the economy is now cooling, and the level of spending cannot be sustained. We have to take decisive action now to avert far more difficult choices in the immediate future.

The proper parliamentary process is to put forth a clean senate bill that can be amended – and then to allow individual amendments to be presented – one after another – day after day if necessary – and to be debated and voted upon not as a package but as individual proposals that rise of fall on their own merit, under full public scrutiny. That’s the way it used to be done.

Over the last few months, we’ve been doing everything to avoid that process. Freely elected representatives with a sworn duty to the constitution and a moral duty to their constituents cannot be ordered about like children. I would have hoped the senate president would have learned that by now.

Name-calling is not going to achieve this. Threats and lock-ups and office lock-outs are not going to achieve this. Only many hours of honest and forthright debate in full public view are going to produce an honest budget.

Now is the time to open up this process, allow free debate and let the Senate hammer out a budget that works.

7-27-2007

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[marsh2]

I know the Water Quality Control Board (North Coast and State) are passing regulations in leaps and bounds that require everyone to obtain an expensive oft-times delayed permit for almost evry activity on the land. Then they complain that they haven’t the staff to process the permits and enforce them.

If they backed off their merry journey down reg row, we would all be better off and have greater freedom.

[ken21]

gray davis deja vu.