Rainy Day Fund

Fiscal reforms sacrificed in same old story
 150 150 Alan Autry, special to The Sacramento Bee
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In today’s Sacramento Bee, former Fresno Mayor Alan Autry takes a closer look at some of the substantive and reformative bills that did not make it off the governor’s desk, including SB 14, which would have helped stabilize the fiscal process, hold lawmakers accountable to the people they serve, and restore some trust in government.

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Governor could improve voters’ trust in government
 150 150 David Davenport & Lenny Mendonca
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Gov. Jerry Brown says he has 600 bills on his desk, but many he will not sign because “there’s not 600 problems that we need those solutions for.” We suggest he locate and sign two bills, SB14 and SB15, that help solve two of his biggest problems: the annual budget mess and the lack of public trust in Sacramento’s leadership, which voters say are closely linked.

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Californians want real solutions
 150 150 Fred Keeley and Bruce McPherson
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After four consecutive years of budget deficits, Californians are wise to the accounting gimmicks and short-term fillers that keep California lurching from budget year to budget year without the kind of stable system in place that protects the programs they need and want.

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The missing piece of the budget puzzle
 150 150 Fred Silva
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The 2011-12 budget plan introduced by Governor Brown on Monday includes major pieces of the fiscal puzzle that at long last will hopefully bring fiscal balance back to California…

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The Conversation: Can California be pulled from the brink?
 150 150 Nicolas Berggruen and Nathan Gardels
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California has long been the bellwether for the United States as a whole. Indeed, as the world’s eighth-largest economy that is home to Hollywood and Google…

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Can a two-year budget help solve California’s financial woes?
 150 150 Nina Martin
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The direness of California’s budget crisis has one silver lining: efforts to reform state government are finally gaining traction with voters and lawmakers…

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Comprehensive fiscal reform: How long can we wait?
 150 150 Zabrae Valentine
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Even with 100 “extra” days to finish their work, the Legislature and Governor fell well short of including comprehensive budget reform in the final 2010 budget.

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Mike Genest: Ensuring state and municipal solvency
 150 150 Mike Genest
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When I retired as Governor Schwarzenegger’s Director of Finance at the end of last year, I decided that I wanted to remain involved in state policy, especially surrounding our troubled budget.

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