VOTER INFORMATION ARTICLES

League of Women Voters^®
of North and Central San Mateo County

Some Articles from Current Voter & Other Information

Membership Information, General Meeting and Board Highlights. Major Changes Needed to Meet Future Housing Needs. Sustainability Beyond Green. Volunteers Needed for South San Francisco's Day in the Park. Important Points about the California Voters first Initiative. Improving San Mateo County's Criminal Justice System. Serving the Public at Election Time: Voter Service is Gearing Up. Resolutions Approved at the 2008 LWVUS Convention. Legislative interview: Assemblyman Gene Mullin, 19th Assembly District on April 4. Legislative Interview with Senator Leland Yee, 8th District LWVN&CSMC March 21, 2008.

Membership Information, General Meeting and Board Highlights

WELCOME NEW MEMBER: Ann Rounds
Changes to the member handbook see Voter p. 5

GENERAL MEETING ON TUESDAY, SEPT. 16, 7 PM
Chetcuti Community Room, 450 Poplar, Millbrae Kick Off the 2008-2009 League Year Reconnect with League friends. Bring prospective members and learn how San Mateo County government will cope with fiscal problems stemming from the current national and state economic environment. Guest Speaker: County Manager John Maltbie State of the County With a goal of heading off a $92.1 million structural county budget deficit in the next five years, John Maltbie unveiled a $1.75 billion budget last May 27 that was $4 million less and 12 positions fewer than last year's. In his final budget before retiring, Mr. Maltbie urged "fiscal discipline" to head off the financial tragedies of other jurisdictions. "There is still time to get our fiscal house in order. Doing so now will avoid the much more difficult choices neighboring cities and counties have to make," said Malbie while citing the recent bankruptcy of Vallejo. Despite the goal of belt-tightening, in an interview with The Daily Journal last May, Mr. Maltbie said the budget showed that the county's finances were strong and projected reserves would remain healthy. Does he still feel that confident in light of drops in property-related and public safety sales tax revenues? Will more cuts be needed? Will there be future negative impacts? Come to our September General Meeting for first-hand answers about the financial health of San Mateo County. Your questions and guests are always welcome. For directions, see calendar page.

Remembering Harriett Saign
We are sad to report the death of long-time League member and extraordinary volunteer, Harriett Saign. Harriett became active in the League more than 20 years ago after a long career in the San Mateo County Community College District. She first worked at the district's fledgling TV station, KCSM, during its early years and then moved to the district's administrative offices, where she served as Clerk of the district's Board of Trustees for more than 20 years. Her colleagues there remember Harriett as a lovely woman, thoroughly professional in handling the varied and important responsibilities of her position.
During her years in the League, Harriett served on the board as both Administrative Vice President and Secretary. She was instrumental in organizing our files and had a hand in shaping up administrative procedures and practices. She generously gave her time and energy to a multitude of League programs and activities. Active as well in AAUW and Broadway by the Bay, Harriett will be remembered by scores of colleagues and fellow volunteers throughout our community.

FIRST TIME IMPRESSIONS
Portland in June... a place full of roses! I became a delegate--once there--at the 48th National Convention of the League of Women Voters of the USA. The greeting and helpfulness of the LWV from Portland were extraordinary. What an incredibly organized group of Oregonians!
It was my first LWV convention, and I was thoroughly impressed by the fellow LWV members from all over the USA. I became savvy about the amendments, by-laws, motions, changes, and "out of order" lingo. However, what remains most clear for me is witnessing the members' dedication to the goals of making a better world through personal involvement. Every person I met cared so deeply for the issues, for the absent delegate members from Iowa who were facing flooding and couldn't attend, for state and national agendas. I learned that there is a very committed group of people who believe that the U.S. President's Cabinet should include a Secretary of Peace so that we seek to include peace at the highest level, sitting at the table to propose it when strategizing for global solutions. My excitement was crushed when the proposal came to the floor and was ruled "out of order." A bit like real life...the process and the outcome are not always in harmony. In consolation, I keep remembering one of their quotes: "It isn't enough to talk about peace, one must believe in it, and work on it." Eleanor Roosevelt.
I went as part of the delegation representing the LWV of North & Central San Mateo County. We heard two former Oregon governors speak most eloquently. Governor Roberts, the first woman governor in Oregon, brought us to laughter when she said, "We are at the table...and we are changing the menu." A scientist from India working with the United Nations explained that in the business of global climate there are no national barriers respected by pollution, and all of us must work together to become worldwide stewards for this and future generations. He closed his address by showing a picture of himself holding his baby granddaughter.
My main reason for going was to attend a workshop titled Engaging New Citizens as New Voters: The
Passion for Democracy. This aligns with the work I'm doing called "Bridging the Vote," which aims to facilitate and educate new citizens; have them register, get informed, learn the process of voting and successfully cast their votes on the Nov. 4, 2008, election. Our League is a partner in this project, along with the County Elections Office, the International Institute of San Mateo County, Siempre Adelante, South San Francisco Adult Education and the City Clerk's Office in South San Francisco.
When I came back from the 48th National Convention, I felt that a priority for our League work is to reach out to our young women and men who are in their mid 20s and will respond to LWV efforts on issues such as global climate, social justice, peace and health. As we invite a younger generation to become members, the issues of their time and potential collective solutions are what will convince them to become the new advocates and educators of the 21st Century under the League of Women Voters banner. Marta I. Bookbinder

BOARD HIGHLIGHTS: At its July 14, 2008, meeting, the Board
--Learned that our new PC was installed and that we would donate our old one
--Discussed the Resolutions approved at the LWVUS Convention
--Discussed the Advice to the Board from the Annual Meeting
--Discussed ways to attract younger members
--Decided to ask Linda Jansen to do an audit of our books
--Discussed our current rental agreement Approved the purchase of stationery and nametags
--Discussed program planning and suggested topics for future meetings
--Heard that we will participate in the South San Francisco Day in the Park on September 20th
--Heard that we will participate in Seniors on the Move on October 30th
--Discussed inviting a speaker for County League Day on February 21st
--Heard that several candidates' forums and Pros & Cons speaking engagements are scheduled
--Heard that we signed the contract with the County for our fourteenth year of distributing voter registration forms
--Discussed a trip to the women's jail on Friday, August 15th

Major Changes Needed to Meet Future Housing Needs

"How and where we house our future population is the most important public policy issue facing local government in the 21st century," according to Don Weden, retired Chief Santa Clara County Planner. The popular spokesman for encouraging an evolution from sprawl to a more urban suburbia was a guest speaker at a recent Sustainable San Mateo County meeting open to inviduals concerned about the future of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Mr. Weden stressed that housing is a "cornerstone of sustainability" and that localities need to plan responsibly to meet inevitable changes in population that will occur in the next half century. Over the past 50 years, most of the Bay Area has developed primarily in low density suburban sprawl. "Continued growth pressures and rising land costs have been resulting in a trend toward more urbanization."
Mr. Weden cited the fact that the old model of separating housing from shopping, jobs, schools and medical facilities is no longer practical in this time of increasing fuel prices, global warming and a rapidly aging population, Many seniors, for example, are no longer able to drive and will be increasingly isolated if they choose to remain in their suburban homes.
Emphasizing that major changes are coming whether we like it or not, and that we must address resistance to change, he explained that between now and June 2009, all 101 cities and 9 Bay Area counties will be required to update the housing elements of their general plans. Commenting that once people realize that most of their police force, firefighters and even health care workers cannot afford to live in the Bay Area and probably would not be available in emergencies such as fires or earthquakes, they will eventually understand that more must be done to provide affordable housing in more densely planned neighborhoods open to all income levels.
Mr. Weden congratulated members of the League and other concerned community organizations that have been working together to stimulate public dialogues on the future and the consequences of failing to plan for change. He said that only with this kind of involvement will government leaders make decisions that will result in the creation of livable, green urban neighborhoods for future generations.

Sustainability Beyond Green

How much carbon dioxide does your city emit? How well funded are the schools in your community? What is the most pressing sustainability issue our County faces, and what is your city doing to address it? Find answers to these questions and more from the 12th annual Indicators for a Sustainable San Mateo County report, published by the nonprofit Sustainable San Mateo County (SSMC). Call 650-638-2323 today to request a copy of the 2008 report.
You can read and download the report on the website: http://www.sustainablesanmateo.org. There is also a calendar of "Sustainable Event," including SSMC's lunchtime brown bag roundtable discussions, which are held from noon to 1 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month. August's topic will be water; September's, energy; October's, transportation and November's, voter participation. You can check the events calendar or call 650-638-2323 for more details close to the dates.

Volunteers Needed for South San Francisco's Day in the Park

Our League is again proud to sponsor a booth in South San Francisco's annual Day in the Park celebration, Saturday, September 20. It's the twelfth year of this great event, and the eleventh year we have participated in it. Our booth, one of more than 250, has always drawn a great deal of interest and support from the more than 8,000 people attending.
We hand out dozens of Voter Registration forms (many to recently naturalized citizens!), provide ballot measure information, and SmartVoter always draws praise and good discussion. Again, in partnership with the County Elections Office, we plan to demonstrate electronic voting: eSlate. In addition, we're always pleased to share the benefits of League membership with many who express an interest in joining. The Day in the Park is a great opportunity to recruit new League Members!
And as in the past four years, we are especially excited to partner with the Community College Foundation and bring to the SSF Day in the Park the e-Bus, sponsored by the Wells Fargo Foundation. The e-Bus is a mobile lab equipped with state-of-the-art computer technology and is used for innovative voter registration and educational outreach projects. Day in the Park attendees will be invited to use one of the 16 e-Bus computers to access Smart Voter and Shape the Future Web sites.
The e-Bus will be parked next to our booth, and it comes staffed with a computer technician fluent in Spanish. However, we need League volunteers to help users access voter information Web sites and to answer questions about the November election.
We will have a large presence at the event, and this is a great opportunity for us to show League's services to the community. Please consider being a volunteer; it's a lot of fun and very rewarding. Isn't this one of the reasons you joined the League? The event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, September 20. Set-up begins at 7 a.m. Volunteers are needed to set up and to staff our booth and the e-Bus. For adequate coverage, we need 10 volunteers. Please call Kathee Tyson, at 650-728-3850, or me, at 650-992-2233, if you'd like to assist with any of these volunteer opportunities.

Important Points about the California Voters first Initiative

Under current law, California legislators draw their own political districts. Allowing politicians to draw their own districts is a serious conflict of interest that harms voters
Not surprisingly, 99% of incumbent politicians were re-elected in the districts they had drawn for themselves in the last election. In the election before that, 100% of incumbents were reelected.
Politicians draw districts that serve their interests, not those of our communities. For example, cities such as Long Beach, San Jose and Fresno are divided into multiple oddly shaped districts to protect incumbent legislators. Voters in communities like Korea town in Los Angeles and La Jolla in San Diego have no political voice because they have been split into as many as four different districts purely to protect incumbent legislators.
This reform will make the redistricting process more open and transparent so it cannot be controlled by one party or another. It will give us an equal number of Democrats and Republicans on the Commission, and it will ensure true independents can participate + a voice that is completely shut out of the current process. In addition, this reform requires support from Democrats, Independents and Republicans for approval of new redistricting plans.
The Independent Citizens Commission will draw districts based on strict, non-partisan rules designed to ensure fair representation. The reform takes redistricting out of the partisan battles of the legislature and guarantees that redistricting will be debated in the open with public meetings, and all minutes will be posted publicly on the Internet. Every aspect of this process will be open to scrutiny by the public and the press.
In the current process politicians are choosing their voters instead of voters having a real choice. This reform will put the voters back in charge.

Improving San Mateo County's Criminal Justice System

Following up on February's well received program on the treatment of incarcerated women in San Mateo County, our League will once again team up with the San Mateo Branch of AAUW on October 7 to focus on the overall subject of improving the county's criminal justice system. Our guest speakers are two distinguished public officials: San Mateo Police Chief Susan Manheimer and Presiding Judge of the San Mateo County Juvenile Court, Superior Court Judge Marta S. Diaz,-who will speak informally on the subject and respond to questions and suggestions from the audience. The League and AAUW have supported the county's efforts to build a new women's jail and also have been collecting books for the libraries at the women's jail and the youth service center.
The meeting is set for Tuesday, October 7, at the San Mateo Community College District Board Room, 3401 CSM Drive, San Mateo, from 5 to 7 p.m. Because of the late afternoon schedule, coffee and refreshments will be served. For further information, call Betty Bernstein at 650-343-9147. The meeting is open to the public, and all members and interested friends are invited to attend.

Serving the Public at Election Time: Voter Service is Gearing Up

Timekeepers Needed: With the November election just around the corner, our Voter Service team is in need of timekeepers. With many candidates' forums coming up, we currently have just two timekeepers who have volunteered for that role.
Being a timekeeper is an easy, but a vital job. At candidates' forums it is the timekeeper who keeps track of the time the candidates have to respond to questions and make opening and closing statements. Keeping impartial and accurate time is a hallmark of LWV forums and one thing that sets League apart from other candidates' forums. Each candidate receives exactly the same amount of time, and elapsed time is measured using either a stopwatch or a timer and conveyed to the candidates using a series of three color-coded flashcards.
If serving as a timekeeper sounds interesting to you, or if you would like more information about it, let me know (728-3850 or katheetyson@yahoo.com). One-on-one training will be provided. The time commitment is generally about two hours per forum.
November Election Races: In addition to the Presidential election on November 4, San Mateo County voters in our League's service area will also be casting votes for candidates running for a variety of local offices. These races include:
U.S. Congress --- 12th and 14th Districts State Assembly --- 12th, 19th, and 21st Districts; School Districts --- County Board of Education, Bayshore Elementary, Brisbane Elementary, Cabrillo Unified, Jefferson Union High School, La Honda-Pescadero Unified, Pacifica, and South San Francisco Unified City Councils --- Colma, Daly City, Hillsborough, Pacifica Special Districts --- Peninsula Health Care, Sequoia Health Care, Mid-Peninsula Open Space, San Mateo County Harbor, North Coast Water, Pescadero Municipal Advisory
State Ballot Measures: There will also be 12 state ballot propositions on the ballot. They cover a variety of issues, including high speed rail, funding for children's hospitals and veterans' housing, parental notification concerning termination of a minor's pregnancy, sentencing of non-violent offenders, renewable energy, limits on marriage, treatment of farm animals and redistricting. In-depth information on all 12 ballot measures will be available in mid-September from LWVC. Pros & Cons Training: What: Pros & Cons Training Session When: Tuesday, September 23, 7 + 9 p.m. Where: LWV Office: Numerous organizations have already asked our League to provide speakers on the pros and cons of the state ballot issues listed above. Most of these speaking engagements run from thirty minutes to one hour in duration, and many are luncheon meetings. Some organizations want a brief talk about all 12 ballot measures; others prefer that we concentrate on two or three of the most controversial or complicated measures.
To prepare speakers, we are holding a Pros & Cons training session at the LWV office on Tuesday, September 23, from 7 to 9 p.m. Our primary source of information for the presentations will be In Depth, an LWVC publication that gives detailed background information, summaries and talking points on these ballot measures. Copies of the Pros & Cons and Easy Voter Guides will also be available at the training session where we will be familiarizing ourselves with the ballot measures and the issues and questions they raise.
We often use a team of two leaguers to work together in offering these impartial explanations of the state ballot measures. If presenting the pros and cons sounds interesting to you, please join us. If you are interested but unable to attend, please let me know as well. In either case, please phone me (650-728-3850) or email me (katheetyson@yahoo.com) so we can plan for the amount of training materials we need. This work is one of the most important ways the community gets to know the League. Kathee Tyson, Voter Service Chair

Resolutions Approved at the 2008 LWVUS Convention

� National Program for 2008-2010 proposed by LWVUS � Board recommended program to amend the Principles by adding, "The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that all powers of the U.S. government should be exercised within the constitutional framework of a balance among the three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial."
All Bylaws Amendments proposed by LWVUS Board
Proposed FY 2008 + 2009 LWVUS/EF budgets
Motion approved to adopt a Per Member Payment of $28.00 for FY 2008-2008
Motion approved to adopt a Per Member Payment of $29.20 for FY 2009-2010
The following resolution: The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that legislative and congressional redistricting should afford the people a meaningful choice in electing their representatives and holding the government accountable, and that the process through which redistricting is accomplished should be efficient, adequately funded, based on well-defined criteria, subject to a reasonable and effective timetable and open to public scrutiny. The League believes that redistricting plans for congressional districts and state legislative bodies: must comply with Federal Constitutional, Voting Rights Act and other legal requirements, particularly those that require every district within a state to have equal population that protect the voting strength of minority groups; and should meet the following requirements and principles: be composed of contiguous districts; and promote partisan fairness. The League believes that redistricting plans should be developed by commissions or other entities that are designed to operate in a nonpartisan manner. The League also believes that redistricting of congressional and state legislative district should be conducted only once during each decade following the federal census.
Amendment to the proposed program, "a multi-level Education and Advocacy Campaign to promote solutions to global climate change".
A study item, "the advisability of using the National Popular Vote compact among the states as a method for electing the President."
The LWVUS Board recommended Program to adopt a Health Care program to educate members and communities in order to be better prepared to do health care advocacy as needed.
The LWVUS redesign its fundraising requests so they cannot be misconstrued as membership recruitment or dues notices. It was further resolved that the LWVUS enlist the help of representative state and local Leagues to review or revise any fundraising or recruiting letters.

Legislative interview: Assemblyman Gene Mullin, 19th Assembly District on April 4

QUESTION 1: The Governor's budget proposed 10 percent across-the-board cuts to all programs on the grounds of fairness. The Legislative Analyst (LAO) and others have argued that it would be better to set priorities and identify the most critical needs. How do you view these choices, and what would be your own funding priorities or areas of greatest concern? ANSWER 1: The Assemblyman rejects this strategy out of hand. As a member of both the Budget and the Education committees, he noted that he is currently holding budget hearings. In fact, he has participated in 23 hearings since January, all intended to set budget priorities. He remarked that the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) Alternative Budget has a lot of merit. He said some cuts will need to be made as well as some revenue increases to ameliorate the $8 - $10 billion budget shortfall. Assemblyman Mullin said, "We will know more after the May Revise comes out." He said the "slide continues, and we believe the numbers will be even worse." It will be very difficult to do an $8 billion solution based on cuts only. QUESTION 2: The Governor proposes to address the state budget deficit through borrowing and spending reductions, with only minimal revenue-raising proposals. The LAO and others, including the California Budget Project, the California State PTA, the League, and many other public interest organizations, have called for a balance between spending cuts and revenue increases. Would you support any new revenues, and if so, what kinds would you suggest? Would you consider reducing or eliminating any tax expenditures to realize more revenue for the state? If so, which ones would you suggest? It has been pointed out that commercial property is only reassessed when there is an outright sale of the property, but not when more than half of the actual ownership of the property has changed hands. Would you consider changes in the way commercial property is assessed to trigger reassessment when such changes in ownership occur? ANSWER 2: The Assemblyman said he would support new revenues. He is a little leery of general tax increases, but is in favor of targeting tax loopholes and closing them which would get us "part of the way." Among the tax loopholes he favors closing are ones dealing with the oil severance tax. He noted California is the only state of 23 that does not have an Extraction Tax. He said it has been voted down on the floor of the Assembly, but it can come back as a budget proposal. The Assemblyman also wants to target and modify the following loopholes: manufacturing credit investments, research and development, and the yacht tax. The Assemblyman said he feels California should close these loopholes in a way consistent with the way other states are closing their loopholes. Assemblyman Mullin indicated that the economy is entering a recession. "The failure to reinstate the Vehicle License Fee has cost us over $20 billion over the last four years, along with other tax reductions that total well in excess of an additional $6 billion." The Assemblyman added that people who say the state is spending more tend to ignore that we have had large tax rollbacks. He added that the increase in spending has been due to population increase and caseload growth. He said there are two competing political philosophies: the Democratic side, which believes we are in a budget crisis; and the Republican side, which believes it's an opportunity to shrink government. QUESTION 3: The Governor is proposing a Budget Stabilization Act that would include such provisions as automatic reductions by a formula whenever the administration projects a deficit in the budget and would give the Governor added authority to enforce reductions. Would you support such a measure? ANSWER 3: Assemblyman Mullin said he would oppose giving the Governor added authority to enforce reductions. He said he feels it would be too restrictive and provide too little flexibility. For example, he noted we do carry a surplus, however, the mortgage meltdown took our state's $4 billion surplus, and it took another $3 billion that required a special session to make cuts immediately. The state's economy is very volatile and dynamic and he again stressed the need to have flexibility. The Assemblyman pointed out that once revenues are accumulated by the state, we tend to give them back to the people. "So," he said, "when you're diligent to have a reserve, the people want it back." He also noted that not even the Governor is actively in favor of this concept anymore. Assemblyman Gene Mullin said the reason he referred to an $8 billion budget problem in '08-'09 was that the state should retain a reserve. "They are looking at creating a reserve of about $2 billion, which is very slender for a $104-$105 billion budget." Assembly-man Mullin said there are restrictions on moving monies from Fund to Fund, but they are looking at it. He also said they are also looking at possible accounting changes (accrual methodology) that would enable the state deficit to be reduced by $2 billion. QUESTION 4: The Governor has directed the sale of, and the Treasurer has sold, the remaining authorized $3.3 billion of Economic Recovery Bonds (ERBs), and early repayment of some of the bonds already sold will be suspended. Repayment of the bonds come from the state General Fund (GF), and, coupled with debt service on other bonds the state has sold, this is an increasing percentage of the GF. Are there any circumstances under which you would consider any further borrowing? The Governor has proposed $48 billion in infrastructure bonds for transportation, water, schools and other projects over the next two election cycles. Given our existing debt, would you support any of these bonds, and if so, which ones? ANSWER 4: When asked about the sale of the remaining $3.3 billion worth of Economic Recovery Bonds and about further borrowing, the Assemblyman did note that all those bonds have been sold and early repayments have been delayed. He said we have sold all the bonds authorized under Props 57 + 58. The repayments come from the General Fund, and right now, our repayment percentage is about 6% of the GF. The Assemblyman said there is a huge demand for school reconstruction, and we will probably run out of money from current bonds by 2010. We are already out of money for CSU and UC construction. The Assemblyman is in favor of further borrowing and is sponsoring AB 100, a $9.3 million school construction and remodeling bond. There is also the $9 billion high speed rail bond. Though he still has questions about additional bond debt, he does believe that AB 100 will be necessary for future school construction. He will meet with the Governor in June to decide if they should go forward with the school construction bond. He said he and the Governor will need to make a decision if the citizens of California feel more bonding makes sense. Assemblyman Mullin said the infrastructure bond money is available, and they are trying to get it out as quickly as possible, because it means jobs. He feels the infrastructure bonds will help stimulate the economy quickly by providing jobs and thus infusing money into the economy. The Budget dominates the Policy side of the house. QUESTON 5: What other major issues do you think the Legislature must deal with in 2008? What are your personal priorities? ANSWER 5: When asked what other major issues he feels the Legislature will be dealing with in 2008 and his own personal priorities, Assemblyman Mullin remarked that everything will be revolving around the budget. His own personal priorities include:

introducing a bill that will allow 17-year olds to vote in the Primary if they will turn 18 by the general election
requiring lead poisoning testing for pre-schoolers
passing a bill that will allow the City of Half Moon Bay to settle its lawsuit with a developer
passing a law that will withhold drivers' licenses from teens who drop out of school
continuing to manage the Education Committee As Assemblyman Gene Mullin will be termed out of office after this year, he said he is also trying to achieve continuity in the committees he chairs in the Assembly and a smooth transition for his office.

Legislative Interview with Senator Leland Yee, 8th District LWVN&CSMC March 21, 2008

QUESTION 1: The governor's budget proposed 10 percent across-the-board cuts to all programs on the grounds of fairness. The Legislative Analyst (LAO) and others have argued that it would be better to set priorities and identify the most critical needs. How do you view these choices, and what would be your own funding priorities or areas of greatest concern? ANSWER 1: Senator Yee said the Governor's intent with the 10% across-the-board cut proposal was to "begin the discussion." He said he agrees that the state has a serious financial deficit and does admit that everyone will "feel the pain." Senator Yee believes some areas will take deeper cuts than the 10%, but others will not. The Senator noted that his own funding priorities are consistent and are the areas he has always championed --- the protection of children, education, and mental health. He said the Democratic caucus has made clear to the Governor that they will not support cuts to education. Senator Yee said he knows some funding must be cut from the education budget, but hopes to make the vast majority of cuts within the State Department of Education by cutting red tape and by eliminating duplication of services. Senator Yee hopes there will be no cuts that directly impact the children in the classroom. The Senator said they will look for savings by addressing inefficiencies and duplication of services. He is also hoping there might be a way to shift money allocated for facilities into the instructional side. Senator Yee added, however, that he couldn't guarantee that there will be no cuts in the classroom. They will try not to suspend Prop 98, but "there will be some cuts." He said the areas most likely to be cut are in social services and health care ,and more people will have to get qualified for services (eligibility will have to be renewed more frequently for a variety of services). The Senator admits we do not have many options and that there can be no more borrowing.
QUESTION - 2: The Governor proposes to address the state budget deficit through borrowing and spending reductions, with only minimal revenue-raising proposals. The LAO and others, including the California Budget Project, the California State PTA, the League, and many other public interest organizations, have called for a balance between spending cuts and revenue increases. Would you support any new revenues, and if so, what kinds would you suggest?
Would you consider reducing or eliminating any tax expenditures to realize more revenue for the state? If so, which ones would you suggest? It has been pointed out that commercial property is only reassessed when there is an outright sale of the property, but not when more than half of the actual ownership of the property has changed hands. Would you consider changes in the way commercial property is assessed to trigger reassessment when such changes in ownership occur?
ANSWER 2:
Senator Yee said the Governor knows that no more borrowing can occur. As to the Governor's proposal to address the budget deficit through borrowing and spending reductions with only minimal revenue raising proposals, Senator Yee does not think this will work. He foresees problems with mandates. He said the Democrats are willing to look at tax increases, but the votes aren't there. The Senator said that there is consideration for a November ballot measure, however the budget is due June 30, so there would still be a July-to-November funding gap that must be addressed. The Senator said he is hoping for proposed limited tax increases tied to very particular needs-- education, for example. He said this might be a way to get some Republicans on board. He does admit, however, that the Democrats do not have the necessary 2/3 majority to override a gubernatorial veto which would undoubtedly occur. Senator Yee said he is not opposed to a sales tax increase, and he would also be open to increased taxes at the higher end of the economic ladder. Senator Yee said, "Yes," he would like to take a serious look at loopholes. He said the Republicans are against this, but there is hope that some Republicans might support a targeted and trackable revenue enhancement for education. He feels strongly constituents who are represented by Republicans, must speak up for this to happen. Senator Yee said, "Clearly, Prop 13 is not going to be touched." There are not the votes to do so and any modification would have to be passed by the voters, which is very unlikely. The Senator said he is in favor of a change in the commercial transfer tax, but it's not clear the votes would be there to make that happen. He said there is a lot of discussion and interest in exploring, however. He did call California's tax structure problematic.
QUESTION 3: The Governor is proposing a Budget Stabilization Act that would include such provisions as automatic reductions by a formula whenever the administration projects a deficit in the budget and would give the Governor added authority to enforce reductions. Would you support such a measure?
ANSWER 3: The Senator said, "No. The budget must be a collaborative effort between the branches of Government." Senator Yee feels that the budget is a collaboration between the legislative and executive branches of government and strongly feels that no one branch should have control. He strongly believes in the balance of powers between the branches.
QUESTION 4: The Governor has directed the sale of, and the Treasurer has sold, the remaining authorized $3.3 billion of Economic Recovery Bonds (ERBs), and early repayment of some of the bonds that have already been sold will be suspended. Repayment of the bonds come from the state General Fund and, coupled with debt service on other bonds the state has sold, this is an increasing percentage of General Fund. Are there any circumstances under which you would consider any further borrowing? The Governor has proposed $48 billion in infrastructure bonds for transportation, water, schools and other projects over the next two election cycles. Given our existing debt, would you support any of these bonds, and if so, which ones?
ANSWER 4:
Senator Yee said, "Yes." He said he would borrow more to ensure the "vitality of the state" and to minimize the pain right now, although the likelihood of that happening may be minimal. The Senator added that although he understands that borrowing equates to saddling future generations, "if your house is burning it doesn't make sense to let it burn down and then have only ashes to leave to your children."
He noted that California is a vital state with a great future. He said if we minimize the pain now, we will have a stronger economy in the future. He also touched on the state's infrastructure and how it is necessary to sell bonds for such long-term capital projects. Senator Yee noted that we are well within our legal limit of bonded indebtedness. The Senator feels bonds give us "more bang for our buck." He said this will help the economy too (e.g. jobs).
QUESTON 5: What other major issues do you think the Legislature must deal with in 2008? What are your personal priorities?
ANSWER 5:
"System change" is the priority for Senator Yee. He said we need to deal with the systemic problems with existing programs + how to use existing dollars wisely rather than always looking to add dollars. For example, schools should "own support services as an integral part of the instructional program" and "deal with the entire child." The Senator said that this is preferred over adding more programs and then having to cut them when we hit bad economic conditions. He added that mental health is similar, and he said we need to improve delivery systems within the county. Beyond that, Senator Yee said his other priorities are kids, education and the environment. The Senator said he would prefer to see increases in revenues rather than cuts in spending. The easier way to do this (with Republicans) is through closing loopholes.

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