Free Republic

"My relationship to power and authority is that I'm all for it... People need somebody to watch over them... Ninety-five percent of the people in the world need to be told what to do and how to behave." Arnold Schwarzenegger, U.S. News & World Report, November 26, 1990 In the eyes of many elected officials, America is no longer capable of self-government. Many Americans were stunned to learn that a small group of Congressmen have requested the United Nations to monitor our federal elections this November. Yet at the same time, other elected officials are working to ‘reinvent’ American government...

NOTICE OF MEETING OF THE CALIFORNIA PERFORMANCE REVIEW (CPR) COMMISSION HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES AND EDUCATION, TRAINING AND VOLUNTEERISM AGENDA FRIDAY, August 20, 2004 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Price Center, Ballroom AB UC San Diego UCSD 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, California 92093-0076 This is the second of six public hearings on the recommendations in the report generated by the CPR. It will focus on CPR recommendations to improve the efficiency and management of the State Health & Human Services and Education, Training and Volunteerism programs. I. Call to order - Welcome remarks by Co-Chairs II. Introduction of Commission...

Major proposals from the California Performance Review: --- Major recommendations: - Cut growth in state jobs by 12,000 positions by 2010 - Sell surplus state property on eBay - Eliminate 118 of 339 boards and commissions in executive branch - Combine 11 state agencies and 79 departments into 11 departments - Merge 25 state entities into one California Infrastructure Department - Merge 20 state entities into new Department of Education and Work Force Preparation - Eliminate county superintendent offices and county boards of education - Trim DMV lines by letting Californians renew driver's licenses online and register vehicles every other...

SACRAMENTO — Some of California's most influential business interests — including Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and EDS — were given easy access to a state commission as it met privately to recommend sweeping government changes, according to disclosure reports and interviews. Public interest groups, in contrast, complained Friday that they were largely excluded from the five-month study, ordered by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. A Microsoft sales official met with a top aide that Schwarzenegger appointed to the California Performance Review, and former Michigan Gov. John Engler, now working for Electronic Data Systems, spent about an hour with the review team because "we wanted...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and local governments are close to agreement on a deal that would provide cities and counties a bigger share of the property tax in exchange for an agreement on one-time cuts. Officials close to the negotiations say Schwarzenegger has shown new interest in satisfying local governments following qualification last week of a November initiative that protect cities and counties from future raids on their revenue sources by the state. According to a memo from the California State Association of Counties, local officials have proposed a one-time $816 million cut to be equally shared between...

<p>Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has so many government reform proposals in the air that one wonders how he can keep track of them all. Among other things, the new governor is trying to overhaul education finance, completely remake the Medi-Cal system for the poor and fix a prison system rotten with corruption and abuse.</p>

<p>Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plans to streamline state government moved forward Tuesday with a call to state workers to begin offering their ideas and a June deadline when recommendations would be presented to the public.</p> <p>Schwarzenegger promised during his State of the State speech last month to "blow up" the bureaucracy in an effort to remove waste and fraud. Administration officials announced Monday the opening of a campaign office for the Californian Performance Review as well as a Web site and hot line.</p>