Assemblymember Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, the incoming Speaker of the state Assembly. March 2014. (Photo: Rich Pedroncelli/AP)ELECTION 2014: The number of women in the California Legislature is on the decline, a trend that — for now — is hitting Democrats, the majority party, more than Republicans. Nine women legislators from both major parties will be leaving the Capitol after this year’s general election.
Getting CalSTRS back to full funding, if rates are steadily increased over the next half dozen years, would take an annual increase reaching more than $5 billion a year by 2020 — about what the state general fund currently spends on UC and CSU combined. (Photo: CalSTRS lobby, Paul Housberg)
Death certificates are the latest battleground for gay rights advocates trying to ensure that the gender a person identifies with in life carries over into death. A bill introduced recently aimed at ensuring the death certificates of transgender persons reflect their chosen gender is the latest legislative effort to vouchsafe the rights of this small category of Californians.
A major public pension reform initiative got a mixed cost analysis last week from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office. The measure would give state and local governments the option of cutting retirement benefits current workers earn in the future, while preserving benefits already earned through past service.
Buoyed by a soaring stock market and rising home prices, personal income tax receipts are flowing into the state treasury at a rate exceeding all expectations. But one big question looms as lawmakers and the governor consider how to spend the government’s new found riches: what will happen when the music stops?
The governor, who has described himself as tight with a buck, set out to prove it before the UC Regents when he said they needed to bite into a “reality sandwich” if they were thinking of getting more than a 5 percent hike in state funds. The increase Brown granted in this year’s budget was relatively modest but desperately needed to fill some gaps for UC.
Across California, some six dozen community college districts – locally administering 112 schools, the largest higher education institution in the country – were scrambling for $90 million.
Reduce Parolee Recidivism. This could include (1) improving or expanding current rehabilitation programs, (2) developing alternative sanctions for technical violations, or (3) better matching of programs and parolees.
“The Guardian Scholars program helped me share my story with other foster youth. No one really understands what we go through except other foster youth. This program helped me psychologically by helping me learn that there are people who do understand. I didn’t know how I would be able to afford college but the Guardian Scholars program has helped me financially through scholarships that are only available to Guardian Scholars. Joy Salvetti, the program’s director, was like a parent to me. She provided the warmth and the help I needed.
At CalSTRS, the two trade associations have not made complaints. A spokesman said two CalSTRS officials have received awards from the associations, and others have appeared on panels or made addresses at association conferences.