Free Republic

Gov.-elect Jerry Brown has told Lottery Director Joan Borucki her services are no longer needed. Her last day is Sunday, according to a Dec. 23 e-mail obtained by The State Worker. Look for many more changes at the tops of departments in the coming days as Brown begins to recast key positions in government. Read more: http://blogs.sacbee.com/the_state_worker/#ixzz19NpQSmS2

SACRAMENTO The state Senate on Tuesday approved Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's appointment of veteran state employee Joan Borucki as director of the California Lottery, despite criticism of an expensive staff dinner held by the lottery last fall. Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, said Borucki's initial reaction was to try to shirk responsibility for holding the dinner to commemorate the lottery's $20 billion contribution to schools. "In retrospect, she's taken full responsibility, deemed it an inappropriate activity and assured us it would never happen again," Perata said before the Senate voted 32-3 to confirm the appointment. The dinner, held last...

Italian firm's takeover of state lotto operator angers lawmakers Lottery director stands by decision to OK $4.7 billion merger; says it will be business as usual. SACRAMENTO - An Italian company with a blemished history quietly purchased a U.S. firm that runs lotto and other online games in California and 24 other states - a development that has surprised and angered California lawmakers into action. But the state lottery's acting director is standing by her decision to approve California's part in the $4.7 billion merger, as the lottery and its online operator, GTECH, reassure critics it will be business as...

DMV Chief Backs Tax by MileNew appointee has advocated a levy based on how much and where motorists drive. Idea is gaining support, but privacy advocates worry. By Robert Salladay Times Staff Writer November 16, 2004 SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday appointed a new Department of Motor Vehicles director who has advocated taxing motorists for every mile they drive — by placing tracking devices in their cars. The idea would mean a significant overhaul of how California collects taxes to maintain its often-crumbling roads. Under the plan, the state gas tax — now 18 cents a gallon —...

Someone needs to pull the new director of the Department of Motor Vehicles over and stop her from speeding heedlessly into the future. Joan Borucki wants to put global positioning devices in cars to track the mileage they travel. The idea is to more closely tie gas taxes to where cars go, the routes they take and the mileage they rack up, rather than the fuel they use. The problem inspiring this potentially Orwellian notion is that as more new and fuel-efficient cars take to the state's highways, the less the state gets in gas taxes to maintain highways. As...

New DMV Head Advocates Tax On Miles Driven Joan Borucki Is Veteran Of State Transportation Programs POSTED: 10:16 am PST November 16, 2004 UPDATED: 6:19 pm PST November 16, 2004SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Tired of high gas prices? Right now, drivers are paying a tax of 18 cents for every gallon of gas bought. The new chief of the state Department of Motor Vehicles has an idea that would wipe out the gas tax, but at what cost? Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's newly appointed director of the DMV, Joan Borucki, wants to charge people for every mile they drive.Schwarzenegger said Tuesday that...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A veteran of state transportation programs, who also served on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's reorganization committee, was named to head the Department of Motor Vehicles Monday. Joan Borucki, 48, began her career with CalTrans in 1980 and rose through the ranks to become chief deputy director of the California Transportation Commission. Most recently she also served as a team leader on infrastructure issues on the California Performance Review, the governor's effort to streamline the state bureaucracy. Among the recommendations from the Performance Review is the creation of a massive new department to oversee water, energy, growth, housing and...