DOCSLIB.ORG

Alert Went to Press

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Alert Went to Press VOLUME 36, NUMBER 31 ● NOVEMBER 5, 2010 ® Jerry Brown Returns to Governor’s Offi ce California voters returned Jerry Brown He gained 50.5 percent of the vote, to the Governor’s offi ce on Tuesday by compared to 37.8 percent for Mike a large margin, as well as electing other Villines, a Republican Assembly member Democrats to fi ll statewide offi ces. from Clovis. With a campaign message of “living The non-partisan position of within our means” and no new taxes superintendent of public instruction went without a vote of the people, Brown won to Tom Torlakson, a current Democratic 54 percent of the vote to 41 percent for Assembly member from Contra Costa Republican Meg Whitman. who ran as a second generation teacher, In the high-profi le race for U.S. touting his classroom experience. Senate, Democratic incumbent Barbara Torlakson won 54.6 percent of the vote to Boxer held off a challenge by Republican 45.4 percent for Larry Aceves, a former Carly Fiorina, winning by a margin of 52 county superintendent of schools. percent to 43 percent. Among the other statewide races, only Congress/Legislature the campaign for attorney general was too Democrats continue to hold a majority close to call as Alert went to press. San of positions in both the California Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris congressional delegation and both houses was leading Los Angeles County District of the California Legislature. Attorney Steve Cooley by just under 9,000 Governor-Elect Jerry Brown Incumbent Congressman Jerry votes, 45.9 percent to 45.8 percent. McNerney (D-Pleasanton) was just 121 won 53 percent of the vote to 38.6 votes ahead of his Republican opponent, Statewide Offi ces percent for Republican Damon Dunn. David Harmer, in the 11th Congressional Serving with Brown as lieutenant Treasurer Bill Lockyer, also a District. governor will be Gavin Newsom, the Democrat, won 56.4 percent of the In the 20th Congressional District, Democratic mayor of San Francisco. vote, compared to 36.5 percent for the anti-incumbent sentiment of voters He won 50 percent of the vote to 39.5 his challenger, Senator Mimi Walters resulted in incumbent Democrat Jim percent for Republican Abel Maldonado, (R-Laguna Niguel). Costa losing to Republican challenger the current lieutenant governor. Dave Jones, a Democratic Assembly Andy Vidak, 48.5 percent to 51.5 percent. Secretary of State Debra Bowen, a member from Sacramento, won the Democrats picked up one seat in the Democrat, will return to offi ce, having campaign for insurance commissioner. California Assembly and will hold 52 seats when the new legislative session begins in December, still short of the 54 Assembly Republicans Choose New Leader needed for a two-thirds majority. The party balance in the Senate remained the same at 25 Democrats, 15 Republicans Connie Conway of Tulare has been Republican leader since 1981. (27 votes make a two-thirds majority). chosen by Assembly Republicans as their Conway represents Assembly The latest election results are available new leader. District 34, which includes Inyo County at www.sos.ca.gov. She succeeds Martin Garrick of and parts of Kern, San Bernardino and Carlsbad, who did not choose to seek Tulare counties. a second term as leader, according Before being elected to the Assembly, Inside to a news release from the Assembly she served eight years on the Tulare Republican Caucus. County Board of Supervisors. She also • Commentary on Election: Page 3 Conway was elected to her second served as president of the California State term in the Assembly this week. She is Association of Counties. • Proposition 19: Page 4 the fi rst woman to serve as Assembly NOVEMBER 5, 2010 ● PAGE 2 CALIFORNIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Labor Law Corner Set Guidelines for Social Media Use to Help Prevent Diffi cult Situations Labor Code Section 96(k) protects an recommendation, and therefore should employee engaging in “lawful conduct proceed with caution. occurring during nonworking hours away from the employer’s premises.” In Suggested Guidelines addition, all employees have the right to To help prevent diffi cult situations, freedom of speech as guaranteed in both it is advisable for employers to issue the U.S. and California constitutions. guidelines to their employees. Some recommendations include: Defamatory Comments ● Prohibit the use of their blogs and Dana Leisinger HR Advisor That right, however, is not without posts during business hours. limits. It is impermissible to post ● Give notice that misuse of social I have an employee who posted some very defamatory comments on social media, media may be grounds for disciplinary negative comments about our company and employers can pursue legal remedies action, up to and including termination. on his Facebook page. Can I take action when blatantly defamatory comments are ● Ask that employees bring any against this employee based on the posted for everyone to read. complaints to the company’s human Facebook comments? Another example of when an employer resources contact versus posting on the The rapid growth of the social media, can take action is when employees brag Internet. including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, about misconduct on their Facebook ● Prohibit employees from revealing Plaxo, and many more, have raised a lot of page, such as calling in sick when they the employer’s confi dential information issues for employers, including the proper want to go skiing, revealing confi dential or trade secrets on social media. response to the question posed above. information about the company, or This list is by no means all inclusive, even posting about spitting in food by and it is recommended that employers a restaurant worker (yes, this was a consult their attorneys to draft appropriate question the Helpline received!). language. California Chamber Offi cers The more diffi cult issue is when Employers cannot ignore social media Larree M. Renda an employee posts his/her opinion, use, however. They must understand Chair which might not be pleasant, but isn’t all the issues involved, and then draft S. Shariq Yosufzai specifi cally actionable. An employee can policies and procedures to address those First Vice Chair cause awkward, even possibly harassing concerns accordingly. Timothy S. Dubois situations by misuse of social media. Second Vice Chair Additional diffi cult situations result The Labor Law Helpline is a service when former employees ask their former to California Chamber of Commerce Frederick E. Hitchcock bosses to provide references, often preferred and executive members. For expert Third Vice Chair on LinkedIn. Supervisors who do so explanations of labor laws and Cal/OSHA Frederick R. Ruiz should be aware that such a reference regulations, not legal counsel for specifi c Immediate Past Chair situations, call (800) 348-2262 or submit your has the force and effect of a written question at www.hrcalifornia.com. Allan Zaremberg President and Chief Executive Offi cer Alert (ISSN 0882-0929) is published weekly during legislative session with exceptions by CalChamber-Sponsored Seminars/Trade Shows California Chamber of Commerce, 1215 K Street, Suite 1400, Sacramento, CA 95814- More information at Delhi and Bangalore. (559) 324-6401. 3918. Subscription price is $50 paid through membership dues. Periodicals Postage Paid at www.calchamber.com/events. Webinar: Dried Fruit Opportunities Sacramento, CA. Business Resources in Mexico. U.S. Department of POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Preventing Workplace Fraud Webinar On Agriculture, California Department of Alert, 1215 K Street, Suite 1400, Sacramento, Demand. CalChamber. (800) 331-8877. Food and Agriculture. November 16. CA 95814-3918. Publisher: Allan Zaremberg. International Trade (916) 563-3200. Executive Editor: Ann Amioka. Art Director: Marcy Wacker. Capitol Correspondent: China International Industry Fair. Asia Society Green Finance Conference. Christine Haddon. Photographer: Megan Wood. Shanghai World Expo Group. Asia Society Northern California. November 9–13, Shanghai. December 8, San Francisco. Permission granted to reprint articles if credit is given to the California Chamber of Com- [email protected]. (415) 421-8707. merce Alert, and reprint is mailed to Alert at Sri Lanka Design Festival. Academy of address above. Design. November 11–17, Sri Lanka. E-mail: [email protected]. [email protected]. Home page: www.calchamber.com. Outbound Mission to India. Western Next Alert: U.S. Agricultural Trade Association (WUSATA). November 13–20, India, November 19 CALIFORNIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE NOVEMBER 5, 2010 ● PAGE 3 Voters Show Concern About Jobs, Economy Although many pundits will write that the supported removing the Legislature’s national Republican tidal wave stopped involvement in reapportionment, when at the Sierra Nevada mountains, a closer they defeated Proposition 27, which analysis indicates that California voters would have eliminated the Citizens are no less concerned about the direction Redistricting Commission, and passed of government, employment issues and Proposition 20, which extends the defi cit spending than the rest of the commission’s authority to redrawing country. congressional districts. California is a state with an overwhelming registration advantage for Jobs: No. 1 Issue Democrats, which certainly has an impact So what does all this mean for the on statewide candidate races. business community and doing business But, if Jerry Brown received a in California? mandate from the voters, it is to follow Even though the anti-incumbent through on his pledges for the state to attitude in the rest of the country did “live within its means” and to adopt no not prevail in California, we do know new taxes without a vote of the people. that jobs were the No. 1 issue for voters. Since the beginning of May, the Mood of Voters CalChamber’s action plan to promote An analysis of the outcome of the economic recovery and job creation ballot propositions serves only to has been posted on our website.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • CAL FIRE Border Impact Statistics
    BORDER AGENCY FIRE COUNCIL The Harris Fire Year End Report 2007 1 2 What is BAFC? – The concerned citizens of the United States and Mexico formed the Border Agency Fire Council. It is a consortium of government and private entities, emergency responders, environmental specialists, law enforcement, fire protection, and elected officials. It began under emergency conditions and has proven to be an extremely successful collaboration. People are alive today because of BAFC. Threatened habitat is protected and even improved because of this program. An unprecedented bi-national mutual assistance agreement is in place and working because of this program. The members of BAFC have worked without judgment or malice toward their fellow human being. From the beginning, their motivation has been primarily to save lives and protect the sensitive habitat of the border area. Thirty-four organizations make up BAFC; a list of members is at the end of this report. The members meet quarterly during the winter and every six to eight weeks during fire season. They meet at the San Diego headquarters of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) in El Cajon, California. Through collaborative effort, they have altered the environment to allow better access into the wildland for emergency responders, while respecting the natural values of the area. They have enhanced communication among emergency responders on both sides of the U.S. - Mexico border. They have reached out to people in both countries with safety messages in Spanish and English. This report provides a brief description of the many projects the Council and agencies have accomplished this year and ongoing projects started in other years yet still active today.
    [Show full text]
  • CALIFORNIA ENERGY COMMISSION the Honorable Denise
    STATE OF CALIFORNIA - THE RESOURCES AGENCY ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor ==-~"==~=== CALIFORNIA ENERGY COMMISSION 1516 NINTH STREET SACRAMENTO, CA 95814-5512 www.energy.ca.gQv ET OCT 3 0 Z008 The Honorable Denise Moreno Ducheny California State Senate State Capitol, Room 5035 Sacramento, CA 95814 Dear Senator Ducheny: On June 30,2008, Stirling Engine Systems Solar Two, LLC, (SES Solar Two, LLC) submitted an Application for Certification (AFC) to the California Energy Commission to develop the Stirling Engine Systems Solar Two Project (SES Solar Two Project). The SES Solar Two Project site is located on 6,140 acres of federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and 360 acres of private land approximately 100 miles east of San Diego, 14 miles west of EI Centro, and 4 miles east of Ocotillo in Imperial County, California. The proposed SES Solar Two project would be a nominal 750-megawatt (MW) Solar Stirling Engine project, with construction planned to begin in either late 2009 or early 2010. Although construction would take approXimately 40 months to complete, power would be available to the grid as each 60-unit group of Stirling Engine modules is completed. The primary equipment for the generating facility would include approximately 30,000, 25-kilowatt solar dish Stirling systems (referred to as SunCatchers), their associated equipment and systems, and their support infrastructure. Each SunCatcher consists of a solar receiver heat exchanger and a closed-cycle, high­ efficiency Solar Stirling Engine specifically designed to convert solar power to rotary power, driving an electrical generator to produce electricity. The project would be constructed in two phases.
    [Show full text]
  • Major Action Report Dated June 11, 2008
    MAJOR ACTION REPORT June 11, 2008 Senate Bill 1067 2008-09 Budget Bill Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review Denise Moreno Ducheny, Chair Robert Dutton, Vice Chair Bob Margett Elaine Alquist Alex Padilla Dave Cogdill Gloria Romero Tom Harman Darrell Steinberg Christine Kehoe Mark Wyland Alan Lowenthal Vacancy Mike Machado ROBERT DUTTON STAFF DIRECTOR Vice Chair California State Senate DANIEL ALVAREZ CONSULTANTS ELAINE ALQUIST OMMITTEE BRIAN ANNIS DAVE COGDILL C KEELY MARTIN BOSLER TOM HARMAN ON KIM CONNOR CHRISTINE KEHOE EILEEN CUBANSKI ALAN LOWENTHAL BUDGET AND FISCAL REVIEW BRYAN EHLERS MIKE MACHADO AMY SUPINGER DIANE VAN MAREN BOB MARGETT ROOM 5019, STATE CAPITOL SEIJA VIRTANEN ALEX PADILLA SACRAMENTO, CA 95814 GLORIA ROMERO COMMITTEE ASSISTANTS DARRELL STEINBERG GLENDA HIGGINS MARK WYLAND ROSE MORRIS SENATOR Vacancy (916) 651-4103 FAX (916) 323-8386 DENISE MORENO DUCHENY CHAIR June 9, 2008 The Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee has completed its work on the Senate’s version of the 2008 budget. This budget represents the work product of 18 full committee hearings and 50 subcommittee hearings. This budget reflects the honest debate that needs to occur about the kind of State we want, without forgetting that there are segments of our population that need assistance in one form or another. Furthermore, this budget maintains a responsible approach to budgeting by limiting the need for risky revenue proposals, reducing additional borrowing, and with no accounting gimmicks. This report is available on the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review website: Please follow the links: 1 - www.sen.ca.gov 2 - Committees 3 - Standing 4 - Budget and Fiscal Review 5 - Information 6 – Major Action Report 2008 We hope you will find this information useful.
    [Show full text]
  • Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL), and Currently Serve on the University of California Regents Steering Committee for Clean Energy/Green Buildings
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY BERKELEY ••DAVIS IRVINE •LOS ANGELES •RIVERSIDE •SAN DIEGO •SAN FRANCISCO SANTA BARBARA • SANTA CRUZ ENERGY AND RESOURCES GROUP DANIEL M. KAMMEN 310 BARROWS HALL PROFESSOR OF ENERGY AND SOCIETY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC POLICY BERKELEY, CA 94720-3050 PROFESSOR OF NUCLEAR ENGINEERING WWW: http://socrates.berkeley.edu/erg DIRECTOR TEL (510) 642-1139 (OFFICE RENEWABLE AND APPROPRIATE ENERGY LAB (RAEL) FAX (510) 642-1085 EMAIL: [email protected] TEL (510) 643-2243 (RAEL) April 20, 2003 Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny Chair Senate Housing and Community Development Committee State Capitol, Room 2195 Sacramento, CA 95814 RE: Support of SB 289 (Murray) Dear Senator Ducheny and Members of the Committee: I am writing to you to voice my strongest support of SB 289 (Murray), and to offer to provide added information or to be available for discussions or testimony on behalf of this important bill. I am a professor in the Energy and Resources Group, the Goldman School of Public Policy, and the Department of Nuclear Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. I also direct the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL), and currently serve on the University of California Regents Steering Committee for Clean Energy/Green Buildings. SB 289 requires builders of single-family residences to offer potential homebuyers the option of including a solar energy system on the residence. This bill will also require, beginning January 1, 2006, that a percentage of all single-family homes be constructed with a minimum of two kilowatt-sized solar energy systems. This bill is an exceptional opportunity for California to diversify our energy mix, develop in-state industries, benefit the environment, and reduce electricity costs and price volatility for all California residents and businesses.
    [Show full text]
  • When the People Draw the Lines an Examination of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission
    When the People Draw the Lines AN EXAMINATION OF THE CALIFORNIA CITIZENS REDISTRICTING COMMISSION by Raphael J. Sonenshein with Generous Support from The James Irvine Foundation When the People Draw the Lines AN EXAMINATION OF THE CALIFORNIA CITIZENS REDISTRICTING COMMISSION by Raphael J. Sonenshein R esearch Consultants Melina Abdullah Mark Drayse Bonnie Glaser Justin Levitt Research Associate Nedda Black Editor Sarah Shectman Design e.g. communications Cover Photo CA Common Cause with Generous Support from The James Irvine Foundation Table of Contents 1 Executive Summary 9 Chapter 1: Background 16 Chapter 2: Selecting the Commissioners 25 Chapter 3: Organizing the Commission 34 Chapter 4: Outreach During the Deliberation Process 44 Chapter 5: Mapping 56 Chapter 6: The Voting Rights Act 63 Chapter 7: Timeline and Budget 69 Chapter 8: Assessments and Looking to the Future 75 Appendices Photo Courtesy of CA Common Cause Photo Courtesy of CA Executive Summary On November 8, 2008, a historic presidential election drove voter participation to unusu- ally high levels. Californians cast more than 13.5 million votes for president. Much farther down their ballot, a smaller number of voters (just short of 12 million) voted on Prop 11, also known as the Voters First Act. By a margin of less than 1 percent,1 voters transformed the way the state went about drawing districts for state offices. Instead of the state legis- lature and governor (and at times, the courts), an independent citizen commission—the California Citizens Redistricting Commission—would now accomplish the task. With little notice in the tidal wave of the presidential race, Californians had made a major change to their state’s constitution.
    [Show full text]
  • Breaking the Tire Cycle Advocacy Campaign Benny Cartwright University of San Diego
    University of San Diego Digital USD Advocacy and Lobbying Best Practice Library Fall 2008 Breaking the Tire Cycle Advocacy Campaign Benny Cartwright University of San Diego Maureen Guarcello University of San Diego Ben McCue University of San Diego Jennifer Martin University of San Diego Adina Veen University of San Diego Follow this and additional works at: http://digital.sandiego.edu/npi-bpl-advocacy Part of the Nonprofit Administration and Management Commons Digital USD Citation Cartwright, Benny; Guarcello, Maureen; McCue, Ben; Martin, Jennifer; and Veen, Adina, "Breaking the Tire Cycle Advocacy Campaign" (2008). Advocacy and Lobbying. 2. http://digital.sandiego.edu/npi-bpl-advocacy/2 This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Best Practice Library at Digital USD. It has been accepted for inclusion in Advocacy and Lobbying by an authorized administrator of Digital USD. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 1 Identifying the Issue At the beginning of the semester our class came up with several potential issues to develop into an advocacy campaign. We weighed each of these against the criteria that our proposed legislation be fiscally neutral, garner broad support from a variety of stakeholders, and would address an easily identifiable problem. In sum, we wanted to take an idea to Sacramento that would be politically viable, and one that legislators and ultimately the Governor would be hard-pressed to reject. Several of our ideas were deemed too difficult to transform into legislation for one reason or another: banning protestors at military funerals- possibly unconstitutional; blocking development projects through state parks- too broad and too contentious; and creating smoke-free apartments- too local.
    [Show full text]
  • Mt Signal Wiki Copy
    Mount Signal, California1 Mount Signal is an unincorporated community located along State Route 98 about 7.5 miles (12.1 km) west of Calexico in the southern part of the Imperial Valley in Imperial County, California. The area is south of Interstate 8 and about 1.7 miles (2.7 km) north of the Mexico border. It lies at an elevation of 13 feet (4 m) below sea level.2 This is an agricultural area. There are a few homes and businesses and many irrigation canals and green fields. The Centinela Solar Energy Project is located here. Other nearby communities include Heber, El Centro, and Seeley. The ZIP Code for Mount Signal is 92231 and the area is in Calexico's telephone exchange area. Its area code is 760. While not a census-designated place, the name is official and it does have a National Geographic Names Database feature ID of 1661068. The official U.S. Geological Survey coordinates are Country: United States 32°40’42”N 115°38’21”W: this defines a State: California spot near the intersection of State Route County: Imperial County 98 (SR98) and Brockman Road. Elevation -13 ft (-4 m) Name The community is named for Mount Signal, a summit about 5.5 miles (8.9 km) southwest, inside Mexico. It is also known as El Cerro Centinela, by the Mexicans, and Wi'Shspa, by the Kwapa: Cocopah people. Mount Signal was used by the early Pioneers and Native Americans as a landmark to help guide them through the desert. Most of the fields in the area are currently growing alfalfa or sugar beets.
    [Show full text]
  • The 1993-94 California Latino Legislative Caucus
    UC Berkeley Policy Reports and Research Briefs Title Latino Political Representation: The 1993-94 California Latino Legislative Caucus Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9bj3332h Authors Baker, Lou Camacho, Lino E. Salinas, Robert A. Publication Date 1995-03-01 eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California olicy profile LA TWOPOLITICAL REPRESENTA TION: THE 1993-94 CALlFORNIA LA TINO LEGISLA TI VE CAUCUS Lou Baker Lino Carnacho Robert Salinas March 1995 A Publication of the Chicano/Latino Policy Project 2420 Bowditch Berkeley, CA 94720 LA TIN0 POLITICAL REPRESEMA TION: THE 1993-94 CALIFORNIA LA TIN0 L EGZSLA TI VE CA UCUS Lou Baker Lino Carnacho Robert Salinas March 1995 CLPP Policy Profile Volume 2 Number 1 1995 Copyright 0 1994 by the Regents of the University of California All rights reserved. Chicano/Latino Policy Project Institute for the Study ofSocial Change University of California at Berkeley 2420 Bowditch Street- #5670 Berkeley, CA 94720-5670 (5 10) 642-6903 The Chicano/Latino Policy Project is an affiliated research program of the Institute for the Study of Social Change at the University of California at Berkeley, The Policy Project coordinates and dcvclops research on public policy issues related to Latinos in the United States and serves as a component unit of a multi-campus Latino policy studies program of the University of California system. The Policy Project's current priority research areas are immigration, education, health care, political participation and labor mobility with an emphasis on the impact of urban and working poverty. The Institute for the Study of Social Change is an organized research unit at the University of California at Bcrkcley dcvotcd to studics that will increase understanding of the mechanisms of social change and to the development of techniques and methods to assist the direction of social change for the general improvement of social life.
    [Show full text]
  • Contest/Candidate Proof List
    Contest/Candidate Proof List Consolidated Primary Election Contests: 1051 to 1206 - Contests On Ballot Candidates are in Random Alpha Order Candidates: Qualified Candidates Num Num Contest/District Vote For frmlaAppointedElected Cands Qualified Status 1051 Governor, DEM 0-0 Riverside County 1 7 7 ON BALLOT Incumbent(s): Arnold Schwarzenegger Elected Candidate(s): EDMUND G. "JERRY" BROWN, Democratic Qualified Date: 3/12/2010 Attorney General of California User Codes: Cand ID: 2 Filing Fee: $0.00 Fees Paid: $0.00 $0.00 Requirements Status ------------------------------------------------------- Sigs In Lieu Issued Sigs In Lieu Filed Declaration of Intent Issued Declaration of Intent Filed Candidate Statement Issued Candidate Statement Filed Declaration of Candidacy Issued Declaration of Candidacy Filed Code of Fair Campaign Practices Filed JOE SYMMON, Democratic Qualified Date: 3/12/2010 Non-Profit Organization President User Codes: Cand ID: 7 Filing Fee: $0.00 Fees Paid: $0.00 $0.00 Requirements Status ------------------------------------------------------- Sigs In Lieu Issued Sigs In Lieu Filed Declaration of Intent Issued Declaration of Intent Filed Candidate Statement Issued Candidate Statement Filed Declaration of Candidacy Issued Declaration of Candidacy Filed Code of Fair Campaign Practices Filed PETER SCHURMAN, Democratic Qualified Date: 3/12/2010 Non-Profit Organization Consultant User Codes: Cand ID: 6 Filing Fee: $0.00 Fees Paid: $0.00 $0.00 Requirements Status ------------------------------------------------------- Sigs In Lieu
    [Show full text]
  • Wilmer Amina Carter
    THE CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF THE CHANCELLOR BAKERSFIELD May 27, 2009 CHANNEL ISLANDS The Honorable Noreen Evans CHICO Chair, Conference Committee on the Budget State Capitol, Room 6026 DOMINGUEZ HILLS Sacramento, California 95814 EAST BAY The Honorable Denise Moreno Ducheny Vice Chair, Conference Committee on the Budget FRESNO State Capitol, Room 5035 Sacramento, California 95814 FULLERTON Dear Assembly Member Evans and Senator Ducheny: HUMBOLDT LONG BEACH Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts with you about the California State University budget as you start conference committee deliberations in this LOS ANGELES time of fiscal crisis. MARITIME ACADEMY In my forty-plus years working in higher education I have never seen a more dire fiscal situation for a state or for its institutions of higher education. I am aware of MONTEREY BAY the state’s need to resolve the escalating budget gap of more than $24 billion as soon as possible, given the overriding need to craft a credible budget plan that NORTHRIDGE enables the state to meet its immediate payment obligations during the summer. A timely and reliable budget plan will also be essential for those of us charged with POMONA the operation of university campuses. Higher education institutions have long lead times for the planning and scheduling of each academic term. We are rapidly SACRAMENTO running out of time to change plans for the scheduling of course sections and SAN BERNARDINO faculty for the fall term. If we are unable to make necessary adjustments for the fall, due to lingering uncertainties about the ultimate level of funding for the SAN DIEGO 2009-10 fiscal year, we could find ourselves forced into even more punishing changes for the spring term, with all the attendant disruption to the lives of SAN FRANCISCO students, faculty and staff.
    [Show full text]
  • California and Mexico: the Need for Joint Policies to Maintain Competitiveness
    UC Center Sacramento Policy Brief Volume 01, Issue 12● March 16th, 2017 California and Mexico: The Need for Joint Policies to Maintain Competitiveness The Honorable Denise Moreno Ducheny, Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies (USMEX) University of California, San Diego Many people are already aware of the important ties between Mexico and California in terms of both trade and migration. Mexico is California’s most important export destination, with bi-directional trade of goods in 2015 exceeding $70 billion. One out of every three Mexican immigrants to the U.S. settle in California and Latinos make up 40% of the state’s total population. It is crucial for the State’s overall competitiveness that policymakers unravel the key policy implications of these data points. It is important to examine the ways in which cross-border advanced manufacturing clusters, coupled with a sizeable cohort of young people whose education takes place on both sides of the border, creates the need for bilateral cooperation to produce policies in support of education and workforce development. In California, we are failing to provide educational Students’ Binational Experience opportunities to Latinos, who now make up over half of the K-12 student population. In addition, unprecedented Have crossed the border levels of return migration means that tens of thousands of students, the majority of whom are U.S. citizens, have left Have close friends or California classrooms to accompany their families back to family on the other side Mexico. The scale and scope of the challenges these youth of the border face is already underappreciated by both researchers and policymakers and these challenges are likely to become Identify as being both more complex in the coming years.
    [Show full text]
  • BIOGRAPHY of SENATOR DENISE MORENO DUCHENY Denise
    BIOGRAPHY OF SENATOR DENISE MORENO DUCHENY Denise Moreno Ducheny served in the California State Senate from 2002 to 2010, representing the 40th District which included portions of San Diego and Riverside Counties, all of Imperial County, and all of the California-Baja California Border. During her tenure in the State Senate, among other duties, Senator Ducheny chaired the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the Select Committees on California-Mexico Co- operation and the Colorado River. Prior to her election to the California State Senate, Senator Ducheny served in the California State Assembly from 1994-2000 and on the San Diego Community College Board from 1990-94. During her tenure in the State Assembly, among many other responsibilities, she served as Chair of the Select Committee on California-Mexico Affairs and the Assembly Budget Committee, and as Vice-Chair of the Latino Legislative Caucus. In both houses of the Legislature she was the first woman and first Latino to chair the respective House Budget Committees. Throughout her tenure in the State Legislature Border issues and building closer relationships with Mexico, and particularly our Baja California neighbors, was a primary focus of her work. While a member of the State Assembly, through her work with the Council of State Governments-West, she launched a series of bi-national meetings among state legislators of the 10 US-Mexico Border States that eventually became known as the Border Legislative Conference. She was honored to Chair that Conference in 2010, her last year in the State Senate. During her years in the State Senate she also led the effort to convene regular meetings of State Legislators from the states of the Region of the Three Californias – California, Baja California, and Baja California Sur.
    [Show full text]