COLUMBO WON’T QUIT in his fight against AB 32, the gas emissions law passed four years ago. “Columbo” is the nickname
of Assemblyman Dan Logue, Republican freshman, who is described by his colleagues as zealous but mild-mannered and can never be
counted out, no matter the odds. We have followed his bill AB 118 for some time. This bill would suspend the 2006 AB 32 bill, which imposes
strict environmental regulations on businesses; Logue proposed that we made sure that our unemployment was at 5.5% for four consecutive
quarters before AB 32 could be implemented. Before AB 32 was passed, unemployment was at 4.8% instead of the alarming 12% of today.
Unfortunately, Logue’s AB 118 failed to pass the Assembly, but he has not given up and plans to take his case directly to voters in
November with a ballot initiative. Because Governor Schwarzenegger considers AB 32 as part of his environmental legacy, Logue’s battle
against it sets the stage for a David vs. Goliath battle. Logue has said, “I think it’s going to be a war like you never dreamed.” He is teaming up
with People’s Advocate, which led the Davis recall and is backed by Representative Tom McClintock, numerous GOP legislators and the Howard
Jarvis Taxpayers Association, among others. He needs more than a million dollars for the fight.
LEGALIZING MARIJUANA other than for medical purposes may soon be a reality. Democrat Assemblyman Tom Ammiano is the author
of AB 390, which would legalize marijuana for persons over 21 and would be regulated by the Department of Alcoholic Beverages.
The bill would create a state license for the cultivation and sale of marijuana, much like liquor licenses.. The State Board of Equalization
states that the state could gain $1 billion from new “pot” taxes. The bill passed committee by a 4 – 3 vote; whether or not it passes the entire
Assembly, there may be a November ballot initiative called the “Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010.”
OFF-SHORE OIL DRILLING could fill almost $16 billion of our $21 billion budget deficit, according to
Assemblyman Chuck DeVore’s proposal released a few days before the governor’s budget plan was released. The governor
did not mention off-shore drilling when introducing his budget and focused on federal relief funding. He also proposed deep cuts
to health care, education, and state employee paychecks. Democrats are proposing taxes to raise revenue; for example AB 656 by Assemblyman
Torrico, which adds a 12.5% tax on oil and natural gas extraction. This bill passed the Assembly on January 27 by a 41-28 vote with 10 members
abstaining or not voting. It is now in the Senate.
SIX NEW BALLOT INITIATIVES for the June ballot include some old favorites such as open primaries. Senator Maldonado is the author
of this one with Proposition 14, SCA 4, Constitutional Amendment. All the propositions, Numbers 13 – 17, will be discussed in detail in future
reports before the June voting.
IS IT TIME FOR ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT A RACIAL PRIVACY INITIATIVE? Our club submitted hundreds of signatures in 2002 for
Ward Connerly’s “Racial Privacy Initiative” that would have eliminated racial identification boxes on forms. Unfortunately, that attempt failed.
However, Mr. Connerly must be gratified to note the progress of his idea in places such as Laguna Creek High School’s “unity class.”
About half the class say they would rather be identified as Americans, erasing race from the boxes. Mike Obi, a 14-year old whose roots
are Italian and Nigerian, said, “If we were all one race, then there wouldn’t be any racism.” He said his parents declined to state his race on his
school registration form.
A growing number of students and parents across the state reflect the trend to decline to state race on forms and tests.
The number of Elk Grove Unified School District students whose parents listed their race as “multiple/no response” went from
500 to 6,200 in three years in 2009. Statewide numbers show a dramatic rise also. Data show the number of K-12 students listing their
race as multiple/no response” has jumped 70 percent from 2006-2009. However, the U. S. Department of Education is asking school
officials to “eyeball” students who decline to state and check a box for them. The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires schools to
ensure students of all races achieve proficiency in English and math by 2014. So the agency is pressing schools to identify all students by
race in 2010-2011 OR FACE PENALTIES. According to the Federal Register, there will no longer be a “no race and/or ethnicity unknown” category.
But California refuses to force schools to rely on “third-party observation” for students who decline to state and are allowing schools to report it’s
intentionally left blank.
