Free Republic

Superintendents Paint Dire Picture If California's Prop. 30 Fails As Gov. Jerry Brown's revenue-raising proposition loses support, school superintendents say class sizes could grow, cherished programs could die and jobs will be lost. What we face is the biggest challenge in public education since the state of California was founded," said state Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson By Stephen Ceasar, Los Angeles Times October 26 As children peered at them through an elementary school fence in Cerritos on Friday, about a dozen school superintendents explained the consequences they will face if California voters fail to approve Proposition 30. In...

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill that creates penalties for people who use air-powered pellet guns maliciously. The legislation, by Sen. Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, closed a loophole in state law, which didn't provide penalty options for persons who cause injuries with air-powered guns, a news release said. The governor signed SB 532 into law Monday. Torlakson wrote the bill at the request of Orinda City Councilman Steve Glazer, who was shot in the neck with a pellet gun in 2003, leaving him with numbness in his face and neck. "This new law will act as a deterrent...

SACRAMENTO – Even as prices at the pump soar beyond $2 a gallon, a South Bay lawmaker has proposed to hike the gas tax by a nickel. "It's not going to win me any popularity points from Southern California drivers," conceded Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza, D-Carson. However, the state's transportation system that drives the economy desperately needs an immediate cash infusion to unclog freeways and patch roads, she argued. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has proposed diverting more than $1 billion in highway funding to balance a debt-riddled budget, rejected a gas tax hike. "The governor has made it abundantly clear that...

Amid the deepest transportation fiscal crisis in California history, Sen. Tom Torlakson, D-Concord, has unveiled a plan to increase gas taxes and reform road funding. The lawmaker introduced a bill Friday that would boost the fuel tax 10 cents a gallon at a cost to the average California driver of $45 a year. The money would pay for state and local road repairs and upgrades, as well as programs to reduce air pollution generated by vehicles. It would go into effect only after the average price of gas drops below $2 a gallon. In a twist certain to generate controversy,...