The Republican Party of Riverside County

Riverside County's Majority Party

Posts Tagged ‘Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

Republican Leadership Update‏

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Republican  Leadership Update

March 8, 2010


So now Jerry Brown wants to be Governor of California for the third time.  As though his first two terms didn’t do enough damage: cancelled freeway and infrastructure projects, unionizing the state workforce, ballooning the size and scope of state government.

In his announcement last week, Jerry Brown once again tried to reinvent himself.  And your California Republican Party helped to translate his announcement video into English, while providing some important information about the last time he was let in the Governor’s office.

Brown Video


THE SENATE AND GOVERNOR PRIMARIES.  Our Republican candidates for Governor, Senator, and downticket offices like Attorney General are battling it out for the GOP nomination now that primary season is in full swing.  Yet, we know our party will come together after June and unite behind the candidates who won the support of our members for the nomination.  In the meantime, you should consider working for those candidates you believe will do the best job representing our party against the Democrats in November.

CONVENTION PLANNING.  Our CRP Spring Convention takes place this weekend in Santa Clara, and I hope you’ll consider joining us for the kickoff of the 2010 campaign.  The changing political dynamic has given our party even more opportunities, and now is the time to press our advantage against the forces of big, annoying government.  For more information or to register, please click here.

More developments…

  • To win, our volunteer organizations, county committees and the CRP must work closely together.  With this in mind, on Thursday I named Ken Minesinger, Chairman of the Republican Party of Riverside County, to chair the CRP’s Volunteer Organizations Committee.  Ken has a long history of activism and participation in Republican volunteer groups and is a fantastic leader in our party.  Ken’s committee will meet at the upcoming convention and regularly throughout the 2010 campaign to ensure that coordination between volunteers, candidates and party committees.
  • On Friday we conducted our latest conference call with members of the Finance Team to review the changing political environment and review our progress in executing the political programs designed to help us press our advantage this year.  Special thanks to Finance Chairman Jeff Miller, Team Cal Chairman Tony Russo, and the members of our Finance staff in Sacramento for the great work they’re doing.
  • The California Federation of Republican Women, CFRWCentral Division met in Fresno this weekend and I was pleased to have the opportunity to provide a briefing on the current political dynamic and the importance of our many volunteer groups in preparing for victory this year.  The thousands of members of the CFRW are incredibly important to our voter registration and turnout efforts.  It was great to see the high level of enthusiasm and interest among the RWF volunteers.
  • CRAOn Saturday night I was honored to take part in the California Republican Assembly’s 75th Anniversary dinner in Orange County.  Congratulations to CRA President Ken Mettler, Vice President Karl Heft, and all the members of the CRA for doing the hard work of engaging thousands of activists and fighting for the principles that bring us to politics.

Thank you for your leadership and work in putting Republican ideas into action.

All the best,
Ron Nehring
Ron Nehring
CHAIRMAN, California Republican Party

_____________________

Follow Chairman Nehring on Twitter

CRP NEWSROOM

CRP Press Release: CRP Releases “Jerry Brown Denouncement” Video

“After Jerry Brown officially kicked off his 2010 gubernatorial campaign Tuesday with a video announcement, the California Republican Party has responded with its own “denouncement” video, using examples from Brown’s own video to highlight his inconsistent political record and his penchant for reinvention.”
“It’s a fantastic new year for California Republicans, and we’re determined to take advantage of our tremendous momentum to elect a new Republican Governor and send Republican reinforcements to Washington and Sacramento.  With this important mission ahead, we look forward to welcoming you to the California Republican Party’s 2010 Spring Convention in Santa Clara.”

“In 1990, Stark Called HHS Secretary Louis W. Sullivan, An African American, A “Disgrace To His Race.” “Calling Health and Human Services Secretary Louis W. Sullivan ‘a disgrace to his race,’ [Rep. Pete Stark] the chairman of a Congressional health committee harshly criticized Dr. Sullivan today for opposing proposals for Federally sponsored national health insurance.”

In Case You Missed It: Jerry Brown Proves He Has Nothing Relevant to Say

“In the category of least surprising, and therefore most anti-climatic, decisions of all time, Jerry Brown announced that he is running for Governor of California. He did so through an Internet video. Certainly I realize how fashionable the Internet is for candidates – but Brown’s choice of venue to announce his campaign was probably less hip than hiding – much like his virtual absence from the campaign trail the last few months.”

National Newsroom:
RNC: Restricting Freedom In Liberty’s Birthplace RNC: Chaos XXV: Who’s on First?

MUST READS OF THE WEEK

Fred Barnes - Anti-Obama Sentiment Sweeps the Nation. The same thread runs through Governor Rick Perry’s smashing defeat of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison in Tuesday’s gubernatorial primary in Texas, the elections of Republican Governors Bob McDonnell of Virginia and Chris Christie of New Jersey last fall, and the Senate victory of Republican Scott Brown of Massachusetts in January. It’s an anti-Washington thread, for sure. But the core of it is an anti-Obama trend.

Karl Rove -  The GOP Targets State Legislatures. The political world is fixated on whether this year’s elections will deliver an epic rebuke of President Barack Obama and his party. If that happens, it could end up costing Democrats congressional seats for a decade to come.
Charles Krauthammer -  Onward, He Said, Regardless. So the yearlong production, set to close after Massachusetts’ devastatingly negative Jan. 19 review, saw the curtain raised one last time. Obamacare lives. After 34 speeches, three sharp electoral rebukes (Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts) and a seven-hour seminar, the president announced Wednesday his determination to make one last push to pass his health care reform.

John Fund -  Advice to House: Don’t Take Any Obama Wooden Nickels . Nancy Pelosi is trying to shoo House Democrats into voting for the Senate health care bill, but members are more worried than ever that the Senate won’t then implement the necessary changes through the reconciliation process to make the final bill acceptable. They have good reason for concern.

Chris Cillizza – Eric Massa to Resign From Congress. New York Rep. Eric Massa will resign his House seat on Monday at 5 p.m., he said in a statement Friday, a move that comes just days after he announced his plans to retire at the end of the year. “A member of my staff believed I had made statements that made him feel ‘uncomfortable,’ ” Massa said in the statement, posted on his House web site. He added, “There is no doubt in my mind I did use language … that … might make a Chief Petty Officer feel uncomfortable.”

TAKE ACTION

Voter RegistrationREPUBLICAN VOTER REGISTRATION PROGRAM LAUNCHED. The Republican tide is rising, and now is the time to get those new Republicans registered in our party.  Republican clubs, county committees and candidate campaigns are invited to participate in the CRP’s new statewide voter registration initiative, including Operation Bounty.  Complete information and sign up forms are available online.  Your club or organization can help set the stage for Republican victory this year by signing up for the program.  Help register new Republicans in your own neighborhood.

Roadshow SquareBRING THE LATEST REPUBLICAN BRIEFINGS TO YOUR GOP CLUB. The California Republican Party’s Roadshow program brings insightful, educational presentations to your Republican club, county committee, or organization’s meeting.  Choose the California Statewide Political Briefing, the New Technology Briefing, or the Networks Briefing outlining how to expand the Republican coalition and build our majority. Click on the logo to bring up more information on the program and request a speaker quickly online.

DATA CENTER


Election 2010: Kentucky Senate. Rasmussen Reports. The two strongest Republican Senate hopefuls in Kentucky have edged further ahead of their top Democrat challengers in the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of voters in the state.

Democrats’ Rationale for Health Care Reform .  Resurgent Republic. In a recent Weekly Standard column, Resurgent Republic Advisory Board Member Gary Andres discusses four reasons why Democrats believe they are right to move forward with a partisan health care bill, which sheds light on why many Democrats are convinced “the only thing worse than passing health care reform is doing nothing at all.”

Federal Pay Gap Reversed. Cato Institute. When I last reported on Sunlight Before Signing-President Obama’s promise to post bills online for five days before signing them-the administration had begun to rack up the wins. Of the 13 bills he signed in December, five had received the Sunlight Before Signing treatment.
Ten Steps to a Free Iran The Heritage Foundation. 1. Impose and enforce the strongest sanctions. The U.S. should push other concerned countries to enforce targeted sanctions on the Iranian regime and its internal security organs; ban all foreign investment, loans and credits, subsidized trade, and refined petroleum exports to Iran; and deny visas to its officials.

CRP CONVENTION


Attend the CRP ConventionThe California Republican Party’s Spring 2010 convention will take place March 12 – 14 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Santa Clara.
Our convention offers Republican volunteers, donors, elected officials, candidates and state committee members the opportunity to learn about the issues, pick up valuable new skills, and build relationships with fellow Republican leaders from throughout California.

Convention Information.  Here is your one stop for all the information you need on the CRP Convention.

Registration.  To attend the convention, use this page to register online.

Proposed Bylaw Amendments (Official Notice for CRP Delegates)

CRP-TV


Where are the Jobs? Employment takes a back seat to Obamacare.

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Getting “Lost”, Going Rogue And Putting Jobs First

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2/13/2010 | Opinion Editorial

By JEFF MILLER

Published in Orange County Register, 2/13/2010

I may be a couple seasons behind in keeping up with the TV drama “Lost”, but when you serve in the Legislature, you really get a sense of what it’s like to be one of the show’s characters.  What my colleagues may lack in tattered wardrobes, makeshift housing and a 360-degree ocean view, we more than make up for in uneasy alliances, ominous plotlines, recurring disbelief and one overwhelming and inescapable question: How did we get here?

Where is here?  It’s a mysterious place of billion-dollar deficits, millions of job losses and thousands of excuses leading to a single inevitable conclusion.  If Sacramento does not change its ways, things will only get worse.  And no, neither the Congress nor the Obama Administration is flying in anytime soon to whisk us away to safety.

The first step to any recovery is to admit you have a problem.  And California state government has a problem.  We spend too much, tax too highly and regulate too often.  Like any binge, it was fun for some while it lasted, and now the bill is coming due.  Buying a round of drinks for friends is one thing, but buying a round for everyone you’ve ever met every day for a decade will surely put you into bankruptcy.  This is where we are today.

A leading concern for my Republican colleagues is the Democrats’ obsession with – and only with – balancing the budget.  In the abstract, this is a laudable goal.  But it will do nothing to deal with the fact that this simply cannot go on.  Our fiscal condition is not in peril because the budget is out of balance – in fact, it is just the reverse.

For months now, many leading figures in the Capitol have looked at our massive budget deficit the way a losing gambler looks at a six-figure IOU held by a Vegas casino: As something to desperately pay off, lest the pit boss decline your marker (or worse).

The problem with this desperate short-term approach is that even if successful, it virtually guarantees it will happen again … and again.

Some of my colleagues express serious doubts about our future direction, others an evident frustration about the daily drumbeat of how we are going to make do with less, rather than spend and appropriate more – summed up by a sort of “I didn’t sign up for this” expression of discontent with the job.

While the atmosphere in the Capitol may be dour, I do not share the ennui that has embraced the building.  In fact, the real winners in this debate will be the ones who energetically and enthusiastically offer real solutions and a better vision of California’s future.

If we do not shrink government, reduce the business burden and create new opportunities for California, it will not matter how many tough choices we make, or how often we pledge to make them.  The only solution is to create an opportunity environment that is centered on job creation and private sector strength.  We’ve tried the other way, and this is where it got us.

The Legislature and Governor must commit to a “Jobs First” focus in which small businesses and larger employers – not big government – are empowered and encouraged to expand facilities, invest in new equipment and create the new employment that is an indispensable part of any economic recovery.

Of course, the screams of the others’ opposition will be loud and long.  But they must not drown out what we all know to be true or halt the momentum that is emerging across the country.  Even the President’s State of the Union address offered that his number one priority this year is job creation.  It will be disappointing if my Democrat colleagues choose this policy choice to go rogue and decline to follow the White House’s lead.

What else will it take?  Rather than the usual partisan sword-fighting, banker’s hours and three-day work weeks, this should be a year of unprecedented cooperation in the Capitol.  It may be a long, lost art, but even the surviving passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 have employed it in times of maximum duress and shared circumstance.

We are all on this island together, swimming is not an option and there is no alternate reality that will explain it all to us.

BREAKING: Brown May Get Around to Declaring for Governor!‏

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News

March 1, 2010

BREAKING NEWS: Reports Indicate Jerry Brown May Actually Get Around to Declaring His Candidacy for Governor This Week

While spokesman says AG remains “very busy,” reports emerge Brown may begin showing an interest in his own campaign

SACRAMENTO – Reports that state Attorney General Jerry Brown may actually bother declaring his candidacy for Governor this week were well received by officials at the California Republican Party this morning.

“While Republican candidates have been working for months listening to voters and putting new, fresh ideas on the table, Jerry Brown has been AWOL from the discussion of California’s future,” said California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring.  “We’re very encouraged by the intermittent signs that Jerry Brown might actually have some interest in the office.  We’ll see.  Maybe he’ll even put up a website.”

Republicans Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner (and reportedly Democrat Jerry Brown) are seeking to lead the nation’s largest state at a time of severe economic distress.  A Brown spokesman last week explained Brown’s lax approach to his own campaign for Governor by saying Brown is “busy.”

“We realize it takes a lot of time to relive memories of the 70’s, count just how many freeway projects he cancelled, tally up the cost to taxpayers for having unionized the state workforce, and adding up how many more bureaucrats California has from all the boards and commissions he created.  It’s a big task.  We’re sympathetic.  But filing a Declaration of Candidacy at the Secretary of State’s office is pretty basic.  I’m sure Debra Bowen would walk him through it personally if it would help,” added Nehring.  “We’re sure that if sufficiently determined, Jerry Brown can get that Declaration of Candidacy done.”

California Republican Party Communications Director Mark Standriff confirmed that the popular “Where’s Jerry?” Watch will continue unabated and unabashed until Brown formally announces his 2010 gubernatorial campaign.

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GOP Taunts Brown with “Where’s Jerry” Chant

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ICYMI

February 25, 2010

GOP Taunts Brown with “Where’s Jerry” Chant

San Francisco Chronicle

As California’s two GOP gubernatorial candidates rushed in recent days from NASCAR races to town hall meetings, Attorney General Jerry Brown – the Democrats’ lone hope for governor this year – has been so low-key and out of the limelight that Republicans have begun a daily chant: “Where’s Jerry?”

Jerry BrownThe California Republican Party’s caustic jabs hit the former two-term governor for being MIA while others are grabbing the campaign headlines – even Zsa Zsa Gabor’s husband, Prince Frederic von Anhalt, has jumped into the race.

In their full-throated campaign, Republicans have humorously seized on a theme – joking this week that even officials at Toyota have come forward to speak to the public while the 71-year-old Brown has been silent.

“One would think if Jerry Brown were interested in leading California at a time of severe economic distress, he might show some interest in his own campaign,” state Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring said.

Brown campaign spokesman Sterling Clifford chuckled at the GOP approach. Brown, who has an exploratory campaign for governor, has until March 12 to formally declare his candidacy.

Until then, Clifford said, “someone who is interested in ‘Where’s Jerry?’ should contact the AG’s office and run down the long list of criminal and consumer protection cases that Jerry is in charge of. Where’s Jerry? He’s doing the business of the people of California.”

…Insiders say Brown’s camp – including his wife, Anne Gust, who is charged with hiring new staffers – is ramping up and is furiously preparing position papers.

At the same time, Republicans have seized on Brown, panning his keynote speech last week to the Sierra Club in San Francisco, which progressive bloggers described as unprepared, unfocused and even disastrous.

“It would seem that when Jerry Brown gets around to launching his campaign, he’ll need to hire a translator,” Nehring said. “Even Democrats have a hard time following just what it is he’s saying.”

Complete article

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ASSEMBLYMAN NESTANDE RESPONDS TO PASSAGE OF ASSEMBLY BILL 5 X8

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STATEMENT BY ASSEMBLYMAN NESTANDE ON ASSEMBLY PASSAGE OF SPECIAL SESSION PROPOSAL

Assembly Bill 5 X8 Postpones Payments to State Retirement Funds,

Local Governments and Schools

SACRAMENTO – Assemblyman Brian Nestande, R-Palm Desert, today issued the following statement on the passage of Assembly Bill 5 X8, which purports to partially address California’s budget deficit:

“Defering payments is the wrong way to solve a severe budget shortfall.  The state has a $21 billion deficit and pushing off the tough decisions on cuts is not going to make our budget situation any better or improve the state’s dismal credit rating.”

“Californians cannot afford more symbolic actions that address only small segments of the problem while bureaucrats continue spending as usual in Sacramento.  Assembly Republicans have consistently called for urgent action and comprehensive solutions that force the state to live within its means and get people back to work.”

Assemblyman Nestande proudly serves the communities of Canyon Lake, Indian Wells, Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, Riverside, Temecula, Perris, Wildomar, Winchester, Menifee, Hemet, Anza, Aguanga, Idyllwild, Bermuda Dunes, Mountain Center and Woodcrest.

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Senate Republicans Introduce Jobs Bills in Special Session

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California State Senate Republican Caucus

Senate Republicans Introduce Jobs Bills in Special Session

In an effort to get Californians back to work, Senate Republicans announced today that they have introduced 24 of their job creation bills in the 8th Extraordinary Session. Last week, with Assembly Republicans, they unveiled the “Jobs First” campaign and this week took another step to help over 2 million unemployed workers by moving these important bills forward.

  • Senate Republicans outlined their plan in five simple themes:
  • Stop California Jobs from Leaving
  • Restore California’s Competitive Job Creation Climate
  • Cut Government Spending and Bureaucracy in the Budget
  • Initiate Regulatory Review and Relief
  • End Frivolous Lawsuits That Are a Full Employment Act for Attorneys

Senate Republicans’ efforts to put California families, farms and small businesses first has not gone un-noticed by Sacramento Democrat politicians. Last week the majority party introduced “Agenda 2010,” their version of a job creation package. The problem with their legislation is that it does not put California’s 2 million out-of-work citizens first. Instead, their bills aim to raise taxes and increase spending and the size of government, but do nothing to help private sector job creation.

Highlights of Democrat’s “Agenda 2010″ included in the 8th Extraordinary session, Senate Bill 27, 29, 30, 33 and 35 claim to be investing public funds to create new jobs, but these measures only increase the size of government and increase government spending.

In direct response to the state’s fiscal emergency and the dire economic situation, Senate Democrats seem to have found the answer to unemployment and chronic budget woes: medical marijuana. SB 8x 53 and 62, seek to license medical marijuana dispensaries and tax it at the same rate as cigarettes.

In contrast, Senate Republicans introduced bills aimed at spurring private sector job growth, cutting the regulatory red-tape that strangles businesses and getting people working again.

Specifically, Republicans have introduced:

Stop California Jobs from Fleeing

While the Democrat so-called jobs proposal fall silent on addressing the hemorrhaging of California jobs, Senate Republicans continue to introduce meaningful measures.

  • Implementation of AB 32, Cap-and-Trade (SB 8x 49 Dutton)
    Puts a halt to the state version of cap-and-trade – an idea that was scrapped on Capitol Hill — which would result in a staggering $143 billion “Air Tax” that would cripple our state’s economy. All Californians want clean air and water, but California cannot afford to embark on a cap and trade system alone.
  • Homebuyer Tax Credit (SB 8x 21 Ashburn)
    A $10,000 per homebuyer tax credit will go towards the purchase of new and existing homes. The new home buyer tax credit was the most successful jobs bill the legislature passed last year. SB 8X 21 will continue that success and double the number of jobs created and make possible homeownership for thousands of Californians.
  • Capital Gains Tax Reduction (SB 8x 43 Dutton)
    Spurs investment and employment in California by cutting the long term capital gains rates in half.
  • R&D Tax Credit (SB 8x 44 Dutton)
    Aligns California’s research and development tax credit rate with that of the federal government’s, helping to encourage innovation and investment, and the creation of high paying jobs.
  • Health Savings Account (SB 8x 47 Dutton)
    Increases state tax deductions for contributions to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), thereby encouraging long-term savings for health care expenses and providing an opportunity for more families to have affordable health insurance.
  • Energy Commission Regulations (SB 8x 68 Huff)
    The California Energy Commission needs a check on its power. It must be overseen by the full legislature and, furthermore, any new regulations need to wait until California’s unemployment rate is maintained at 5.1% or lower for 3 consecutive months.
  • Work Opportunity Tax Credit (SB 8x 59 Dutton)
    Gives employers tax credits for hiring people off historically high welfare rolls, helping get Californians back to work while reducing California’s public assistance obligation.

Restore California’s Competitive Job Creation Climate

Unlike the Senate Democrats misplaced priorities as it relates to California’s desperate need for new jobs, Senate Republicans continue their focus on creating jobs by removing legislative and regulatory burdens, not publicly funded employment programs.

  • Jobs Protection Act (SB 8x 60 Harman)
    Requires a fiscal impact analysis, a hearing and legislative approval before bills affecting business costs become law.
  • Out of State Health Plans (SB 8x 65 Huff)
    Permits out of state healthcare plans and insurers to offer their services in California, offering competition, reigning in costs and making healthcare more affordable for everyone.
  • CEQA Exemptions (SB 8x 56 Hollingsworth)
    Streamlines the infrastructure project permitting process, allowing shovel ready projects to start quickly and put Californians back to work.
  • K-12 contracting (SB 8x 61 Huff)
    Gets rid of antiquated policies that limit the ability to hire the best, most cost efficient person for non-instructional jobs – such as transportation, landscaping and maintenance – allowing schools to do what is most important — teach our children.
  • Improve Small Business Access to Capital (SB 8x 51 Dutton)
    Simplifies the business tax code to get cash flowing back to small businesses, assisting companies in their efforts to expand and hire new workers.
  • Manufacturers, R&D Sales and Use Tax Exemption (SB 8x 58 Dutton)
    Exempts manufacturing and research and development equipment from sales and use taxes, helping California – notorious for taxing its businesses out of state — become economically competitive once again.
  • Veterans Hiring Tax Credit (SB 8x 63 Denham)
    Provides a tax credit to private sector employers who hire veterans. There are thousands of veterans returning home to California and this measure will incentives the private sector to hire them.

Initiate Regulatory Review and Relief

  • Meals and Rest Periods (SB 8x 70 Dutton)
    Allows more flexible and appropriate standards for employers and employees to schedule mandatory breaks throughout a shift.
  • New Car Sales Tax Reduction (SB 8x 46 Hollingsworth)
    Allows a person trading in their used car to reduce the principle cost of a new vehicle, saving the buyer in taxes and helping the dealer sell more cars and stimulate the economy.
  • Eliminate Corporate Penalty (SB 8x 54 Hollingsworth)
    Eliminates the existing million dollar penalty for companies that underestimate their corporate tax liability, giving companies more money to invest or expand by not having to overestimate their taxes as a precaution.
  • Salesperson Licensing Reform (SB 8x 67 Huff)
    Allows owners of multiple car dealerships to share staff, providing their employees more opportunities to sell cars at any one dealership in an industry that has been decimated by the recession.
  • Delay On-Road/In-Use Diesel Regulations (SB 8x 57 Cox)
    Delays the costly new diesel engine regulations enacted by The California Air Resources Board that have had an onerous effect on all transportation sectors. Delaying these regulations will help keep these small businesses keep their doors open and workers employed.
  • Flexible Workweek (SB 8x 66 Cox)
    Allows employers to offer flexible work weeks, giving their employees the opportunity to spend more time with their families and employers more flexibility in scheduling their workers.
  • Systematic Review of Regulations (SB 8x 48 Dutton)
    Regulations are strangling our businesses and stifling growth. Requires a review of all regulations to determine which ones are cost effective and requiring those that are not to be repealed or amended. Overregulation is strangling our businesses and stifling growth, reducing and simplifying the regulatory burden will help jump start our struggling economy.
  • Third-party Analysis of Economic Impact of ARB Regulations (SB 50 8x Dutton)
    Requires an objective third-party to analyze the economic impact of Air Resource Board (ARB) regulations. Time after time, ARB studies have proven to be seriously flawed. This would ensure that real economic analyses are completed.

Create Full Employment Act for Entrepreneurs, Not Attorneys

  • Repeal of the Sue Your Boss Law (SB 8x 64 Hollingsworth)
    Repeals the Private Attorneys General Act, which takes the responsibility of investigating employer misdeeds out of the hands of the Labor commission or the Attorney General and puts it into the hands of ambulance chasing lawyers. Repealing this law will lower overall costs and prevent further frivolous lawsuits.
  • Tort Reform (SB 8x 69 Huff)
    Prevents innocent sellers from being frivolously sued for selling faulty goods they did not manufacture.

Senate Republicans agree that job creation is the number one priority. These job creation bills should be considered during the 8th Extraordinary session to expedite economic recovery as quickly as possible.

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February 25 Reception and General Membership Meeting Featuring Damon Dunn and Al Ramirez

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“DRIVE TO VICTORY 2010”

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF RIVERSIDE COUNTY

Cordially Invites you to a Reception and General Membership Meeting/Presentation Featuring

Damon Dunn,

Candidate for Secretary of State

with special guest, Al Ramirez

Candidate for US Senate

ON

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Reception:  630pm, Meeting:  7pm

AT

The Historic Mission Inn

3649 Mission Inn Avenue

Riverside, CA. 92501

HELP US ATTAIN VICTORY IN 2010!

All Registered Republicans Attend At No Charge

Light Refreshments, No Host Bar

For questions about the event or for information on The Republican Party of Riverside County:

Riversidegop.com

Daily Briefing for February 17, 2010

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California State Senate Republican Caucus

Daily Briefing for February 17, 2010

DAN WALTERS COLUMN

Anti-politician rage imperils Boxer

Barbara Boxer’s 18-year career as a U.S. senator has resembled a “Perils of Pauline” movie serial, for those old enough to remember.

BUDGET

Democrats’ budget plan advances in Senate

Sacramento Bee–The Senate Budget Committee on Tuesday approved rollbacks of two corporate tax breaks as part of a complex gas-tax swap to help close the state’s $19.9 billion deficit.

ECONOMY & JOBS

CalPERS to extend contract of financial firm accused of fraud

Sacramento Bee–CalPERS plans to extend a management contract with financial services giant State Street Corp., the same firm accused in a lawsuit of defrauding CalPERS and CalSTRS.

New wave of foreclosures by end of 2010 is feared

Los Angeles Times
– About 4 million U.S. homeowners are 90 days or more delinquent on their loans or in foreclosure proceedings, Moody’s Economy.com says. A federal loan modification program is helping a relative few.

EDUCATION

Districts refusing reforms could hurt California’s chances for grant money

Los Angeles Times–The state hopes to win up to $700 million in Race to the Top funds. But a large portion of districts and teachers unions eschew California’s proposed changes and refuse to sign its grant application.  A large number of California school districts and teachers unions have refused to accept education reforms being pushed by the Obama administration, and that could hamper the state’s chances of winning hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants, some officials fear.


ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

Yosemite’s new boss is ready for the challenge

Sacramento Bee–Don Neubacher begins his work next month as the new boss of Yosemite National Park, but his agenda will be the same as that of his four predecessors – to finish cleaning up after the massive flood of 1997.


HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

Proposed cuts would end California assistance for most new legal immigrants

Los Angeles Times–Gov. Schwarzenegger’s budget proposes saving $304 million by eliminating several programs that provide a safety net for elderly, disabled and low-income immigrants who don’t yet qualify for federal welfare.  Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s latest proposals to close California’s budget shortfall would end public assistance for most new legal immigrants, eliminating emergency cash, food and medical aid for those who don’t yet qualify for federal welfare.


POLITICS

Dianne Feinstein says no to governor’s race

Los Angeles Times–Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday ended speculation that she might leave Congress to run for governor.

Schwarzenegger: In lieutenant governor sequel, Maldonado may win gold

Los Angeles Times–Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday formally withdrew his nomination of state Sen. Abel Maldonado for the vacant lieutenant governor’s post and promptly submitted it to lawmakers again. The Democratic-controlled Assembly last week did not confirm the Republican Maldonado after several rounds of voting. The governor called that “hyperpartisan politics at its worst.” Why should this time be different?

Governor rebukes Assembly Democrats over Maldonado nomination

Sacramento Bee–Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested Tuesday that Assembly Democrats are losing a public relations war by resisting the nomination of his choice for lieutenant governor.

Democrats accused of meddling in GOP gubernatorial race

Mercury News–With its first on-air foray — a 30-second radio ad attacking Meg Whitman — an independent Democratic group is being accused of meddling in the Republican gubernatorial race.

The Buzz: Feinstein says ‘no thanks’ to running California

Sacramento Bee–U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein has clarified what seemed like a no-brainer to just about everybody: She’s not running for governor this year. The 76-year-old Democrat told supporters – and Attorney General Jerry Brown – that she was staying put. Hard to imagine why she’d want to tackle gridlock and dysfunction in California’s state government when there’s plenty of that in Washington.

Newsom builds team for possible race

San Francisco Chronicle–Nothing official yet, but San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is putting together a campaign team for a possible run for lieutenant governor and will probably submit a ballot statement today to go in the state voter guide.

Calif. Assembly speaker to make congressional run

San Francisco Chronicle–California Assembly Speaker Karen Bass is set to announce her candidacy for a Los Angeles-area congressional seat.

Whitman brings campaign message to Lafayette

Contra Costa Times–Republican gubernatorial candidate and former eBay chief Meg Whitman, flanked by two large flat-screen monitors that echoed her numbered talking points, pounded out her stump speech before a sold-out gathering of the Commonwealth Club on Tuesday night.

Candidate Poizner supports bid for part-time Legislature

San Diego Union-Tribune–State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, a Republican candidate for governor, yesterday endorsed a proposed November ballot initiative that would make the Legislature a part-time body as it was until 1967.


PUBLIC SAFETY

California attorney general weighs in on early-release law

Los Angeles Times–Brown says the new prisoner release law applies to county jails too but doesn’t require drastic action. The Orange County deputies union went to court to try to block local-level implementation.  California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown waded into the controversy Tuesday over a new law that aims to reduce the state prison population by saying it applies to county jails but should not be read as requiring immediate, large-scale reductions of their populations.

More inmates to be released early as Sacramento judge rescinds earlier order

Sacramento Bee–The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department will resume early releases of jail inmates as soon as today in response to yet another order from a Sacramento judge over the state’s new parole reform law.

Deputy union sues to stop early inmate release

Orange County Register–The Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs filed a lawsuit against the county today to stop the county from releasing 100s of jail inmates early, the union announced today.

TRANSPORTATION

Local officials balk at state granting them power to enact transit fee

Press-Enterprise–Inland county and city officials are cool to a plan unveiled by state Senate Democrats on Tuesday to save transit funding that the governor wants to cut by handing the power to charge transit fees to local officials.

MISC.

Bill would ease ban on selling syringes

San Francisco Chronicle–California is one of just three states that prohibits pharmacists from selling syringes without a prescription, but a bill introduced Tuesday could change that.
DAILY NEWS EDITORIAL

`Open primary’ system is made to open your wallet

TAXPAYERS, hang on to your wallets. The latest threat to your hard-earned dollars is a ballot measure with the innocuous title of “Elections: open primaries.”

LOS ANGELES TIMES EDITORIAL

Feinstein’s water meddling

By attempting to divert water to a group of farmers in the west San Joaquin Valley, she risks upsetting a delicate compromise reached last year.  Cities, farmers, fishermen and environmentalists have been waging an exhausting tug of war over water for decades in California, but last fall something unusual happened. All those ropes being tugged by competing interests were woven into something new — a framework for settling conflicts approved under a package of bills by the Legislature. The agreement might have been a fragile web, but it was a historic one nonetheless. And then, last week, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) fired a cannonball through it.

PRESS ENTERPRISE EDITORIAL

Budget blindness

California’s persistently large shortfalls demand what should already be basic state policy: a thorough review of the billions of dollars in tax breaks the state offers each year. A state trying to close a $20 billion shortfall cannot afford to spend money on programs that achieve nothing — or allow tax exemptions that serve no public purpose.
SACRAMENTO BEE EDITORIAL

Judges shouldn’t be above the law

Justice may be blind, but the commission in charge of disciplining California’s judges should have its eyes wide open when a jurist shows up on its docket more than once.

SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE EDITORIAL

Politics at its most pathetic / Vapid anti-Iran posturing reflects terribly on Poizner and Brown

Of all the bad legislation to emerge from Sacramento in recent years, among the worst was a 2007 measure requiring the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System to sell stock holdings in international companies that did business with Iran. (U.S. companies are already banned from dealing with Iran.)

VENTURA STAR EDITORIAL

In California, a return to the Stone Age?

It’s an odd place to find wisdom, in a television commercial, but thanks to the people at Honda perhaps the most poetic expression of the rationale for developing alternative energy is now reaching a mass audience: “The Stone Age didn’t end because people ran out of stones.”

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Liberals Prepare to Evade Limits for Brown

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CRP Communications

February 15, 2010

Liberals Who Champion Campaign Limits Setting Up Groups to Evade Them

While Democrats claim to support campaign restrictions, committees being established to help Jerry Brown regardless of contribution limits

SACRAMENTO, CA – Faced with the challenge of trying to sell Jerry Brown as the answer to California’s challenges, the champions of campaign finance ‘reform’ and limits on campaign contributions have announced plans to form multiple independent expenditure committees aimed at skirting state contribution limits.

While labor officials have long championed strict limits on contributions to candidates, state unions are creating  the “California Working Families 2010″ independent expenditure committee specifically to skirt such limits, while the “Level the Playing Field 2010″ committee plans to raise upwards of $20 million that could not go directly to Jerry Brown’s campaign committee.

“The Democrats are always fond of imposing limits on candidates, right up until it impacts one of theirs,” said California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring.  “Now, Jerry Brown’s friends are looking for every conceivable way to pour millions of dollars into the governor’s race not to build their own candidate up, but to relentlessly tear down our candidates.”

“Jerry Brown can’t win this race without a bailout, so the special interests are stepping in to provide one,” he added.  “While there may not be explicit coordination, it’s clear these committees will take point in attacking Republicans so Jerry Brown can avoid being accountable for his failed policies.”

Independent expenditure committees are not subject to limits contributions.  The move to combine three of these committees in order to supplement one candidate’s financial shortcomings is historically unheard-of and, according to the San Jose Mercury News, “will pour an unprecedented wave of cash into a negative advertising campaign four months ahead of the June 8 primary.”

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California Republican Senate Leader: Time to Put California Jobs First‏

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Dutton Report Special

Senator Dutton's Banner

***Dutton Report Special***

Time to Put California Jobs First

Yesterday several California small business owners and my Republican colleagues joined together to emphasize the importance of private sector job creation and to continue our campaign to revive California’s struggling economy.

Our campaign titled “California Jobs First” seeks to:

  • Stop jobs from leaving our state
  • Restore California’s competitiveness as a jobs-friendly state
  • Cut wasteful government spending and needless bureaucracy
  • Provide regulatory relief for individuals and small businesses
  • End the frivolous lawsuits that raise our cost of living
Jobs Press Conference

Watch as I join private business owners and members of the Senate and Assembly during the “California Jobs First 2010″ press conference on Feb. 10, 2010. (VIEW VIDEO)

Since 2000 we’ve lost over 600,000 manufacturing jobs. Adding insult to injury, regulators are now developing global warming regulations that will cost our state 1.1 million more jobs. Regulations are killing jobs in California.

To protect private sector jobs, I’ve introduced Senate Bill 960 that will require the non partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office to determine the cost effectiveness and feasibility of regulations imposed by the California Air Resources Board.

I’ve also introduced Senate Bill 942 that will require the State Auditor to review existing regulations and point out those that are unnecessary or too costly to implement. The bill will also sunset all regulations after 10 years unless they are determined they are necessary. These measures and others like them will help private business and bring some common sense back to our regulatory climate.

It takes 25 private sector jobs to support every state government job. We need to stop killing private sector jobs that help provide the funds necessary to build roads, support our schools and make our communities a safer place to live and work.

Over the next several days my Republican colleagues and I will be introducing many more pieces of legislation aimed at lifting the burdens that are hurting job creators. It’s time we put the small businesses of California first instead of making them wait at the end of the line.

California will recover from this current recession. It is up to the Legislature to determine how long the recovery will take.

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