California Raises More Tax Revenue Than Gavin Newsom Expected
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REST IN PEACE
Friends of Scott Lay late Monday shared that the longtime Capitol luminary passed away earlier this month at 48 years old.
Lay has spent much of his career at California Community League, which he led as president for almost nine years.
He is well known as a pioneer in sharing digital news, first through an email called The roundup and later through his publication entitled Noon, where he touched thousands of people every day with his ideas on California politics and politics.
“Roundup was a real passionate project for Scott. Long before The Nooner became his job, The Roundup was his side business – something he helped write before dawn every morning. During the day he ran the Community College League and at night he stayed awake until the wee hours to maintain and develop Roundup’s technical capabilities, ”a friend said. Anthony York of California Medical Association wrote in a remembrance at Capitol Weekly.
“He developed these technical skills to create a free bill tracking system and a database of campaign contributions that outperformed paid subscription offers or public agency databases. Its free ElectionTrack the service was so much better than the state’s outdated Cal-Access system, that many of us started running a (half-joking) whisper campaign Scott Lay for Secretary of State.
“He loved every minute,” York wrote.
WE ARE IN THE MONEY
California’s windfall revenue is even larger than originally forecast in May, according to the Office of the Legislative Analyst.
“We currently anticipate that there is a good chance that the collections of the ‘big three’ taxes – personal, sales and corporate income taxes – will exceed the Budget Bill of 170 assumption. billion dollars in 2021-2022 “, according to a LAO blog post published Monday. “Our current best estimate is that the amount of unanticipated income is likely to be between $ 5 billion and $ 25 billion.”
LAO’s “best guess” is that the additional revenue will total just over $ 15 billion.
Govt. Gavin Newsom and state legislators this year passed a budget that projected a surplus in the order of $ 80 billion. If LAO’s projection holds, they will have even more to spend or send back to taxpayers.
So what does this mean for the state budget?
According to LAO, each dollar of unanticipated revenue generates, on average, 40 cents of additional state surplus, although it can reach 60 cents and as low as 10 cents or less under a number of specific conditions.
It is because the state has two constitutional budget formulas that impose certain types of expenses based on revenue performance: Proposition 98 expenses for schools and community colleges and Proposal 2 expenditure on reserves and debt payments.
ASSEMBLER LEVINE will introduce himself as INSURANCE COMMISSIONER
Via Hannah Wiley and Andrew Sheeler …
In his recent campaign announcement, member of the Assembly Marc Levine, D-Marin County, says he took on oil companies, the National Association of the Rifle and major California utilities. Now he faces his fellow Democrat Ricardo lara with the goal of becoming California’s next insurance commissioner.
Levine announced his candidacy on Monday.
“Our state deserves an insurance commissioner who will oppose the special interests of businesses on behalf of Californians and ordinary consumers,” Levine said in a statement. “The issues facing the next commissioner have never been more critical: protecting California at a time of worsening climate change and increasing wildfires and floods, securing access to affordable, high-quality health care for all; and defending consumers against corporate fraud and abuse. “
Levine went on to state that “there are too many distractions, too many conflicts, too many missed opportunities” under Lara’s tenure as commissioner.
“I think new leadership is essential,” said Levine.
In an interview with The Sacramento Bee, Levine said he “never dreamed” of running for the job until he learned in recent years what a problem the market was posing for home and business owners. companies in the land of forest fires.
Levine said too many of his constituents, along with countless others in California, face non-renewals and skyrocketing rates that make insurance an unaffordable but necessary product.
“We need someone who can hold insurance companies accountable for change and strengthen industry oversight and consumer protection,” Levine said. “We have an insurance market that is dysfunctional, and it has been dysfunctional for years… It is increasingly difficult for home owners and business owners to get the insurance they need. “
Levine also said he would provide the kind of “bold and strident leadership” that the current administration lacks to Insurance Commissioner Lara.
Lara faced a series of headlines in 2019 after the San Diego Union-Tribune shattered the story that the commissioner had accepted tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from industry executives and their wives. During the election campaign, Lara had promised not to accept such donations. He then apologized for the mistake and promised more transparent service.
Levine has said he won’t accept industry money and blamed Lara’s actions for a lack of industry oversight.
“We can’t rely on someone when they do something, when they act, they do it for the sake of big money and special interests,” Levine said. “I will end the current scandals and usher in a new era of transparency.”
As stated in the Chronicle of San Francisco, Levine added that he is not showing up with the support of Consumer watchdog, an organization that fought with Lara over donations and her politics.
Lara was first elected Commissioner in 2018; previously he had been a state senator. Her election was a historic milestone – Lara is the first openly gay person elected to a statewide post in California history. Lara beat the independent Steve poizner with nearly 53% of the votes, according to the California Secretary of State’s Office.
Lara has a plethora of high-level backers for her re-election, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, former governors. Jerry brown and Davis Gray, the lieutenant governor. Eleni Kounalakis, Attorney General Rob bonta, treasurer Fiona Ma, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and secretary of state Shirley weber.
MAYOR OF ELK GROVE APPROVES ASHBY FOR THE SENATE
Angelique Ashby, the Sacramento City Council candidate member to replace the senator. Richard pan in the State Senate, obtained the endorsement of the Mayor of Elk Grove Bobbie Singh Allen.
“Elk Grove needs a fighter for our values and our priorities on Capitol Hill, and Angelique Ashby has the energy and tenacity to make sure our voices are heard,” Singh-Allen said in a statement. “Having known Angelique for over a decade, I know that she is aware of what is important to the community of Elk Grove, especially women and their families, and I look forward to a partnership that provides results for Elk Grove. Our community is similar in diversity to Natomas. Angélique will be a champion for women, students and our families.
Singh-Allen is the last elected to support Ashby. It was also approved by Senator Pan and the member of the Assembly Jim Cooper, D-Elk Grove.
The race promises to be hot. Others who say they are showing up, including the former insurance commissioner Dave jones, Sacramento City Councilor Eric Guerra, pastor of Elk Grove Tecoy carrier and restaurateur Matthew Burgess.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Breaking a ‘vicious cycle’ is exactly what we’re trying to do. Survivors of domestic violence should be able to use their story – their whole story – when seeking protection. Laws against #coercive control and #reproductive coercion allow them to do this. ”
– Senator Susan Rubio, D-Baldwin Park, via Twitter.
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