california legislature: California Homeowners Bill of Rights - New Law for 2013 - 01/01/13 05:29 AM
The new California Homeowner Bill of Rights becomes law today. If you're not familiar with this measure, it was a bill carried on behalf of California Attorney General Kamala Harris last year that sought to codify some of the measures set forth in the national mortgage settlement deal struck in early 2012. 
Initially opposed by the California Association of Realtors as well as the California Bankers Association and the California Mortgage Bankers Association, the bill was pushed through the legislature by a closed joint committee  of both houses so when the bill eventually reached the floor, it was voted on immediately … (29 comments)

california legislature: Realtors OPPOSE CA 'Homeowners Bill of Rights'. - 06/27/12 08:55 AM
California Homeowners Bill of Rights:
A Lesson in Political Expediency & Unintended Consequences.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced in a much heralded press release today that her 'California Homeowners Bill of Rights' has 'taken a key step toward passage'. Here's the key step - she bypassed every preliminary opportunity for the bill to be discussed, debated or voted on in either the Assembly or the Senate. What she did, or had her minions in the Legislature do for her, was have the bill introduced to a 'two-house conference committee' that voted this morning to pass the bill. That means tomorrow … (12 comments)

california legislature: California's Legislature - Unclear on the Whole 'Jobs' Thingy. - 08/11/11 06:15 AM
Say you're the owner of a commercial building. Based on bids, you hire a company to come in evenings and clean the building keeping your investment intact and making it presentable for your employees and clients the next day. Now imagine that company is run very poorly, they hire cheap labor, do a very poor job, don't even show up some days, maybe steal stuff from your workplace. At the end of the year, they've done such a bad job you go back out to bid and hire a reputable company that has a great reputation but will cost significantly more. 
… (3 comments)

california legislature: Just another reason California's in the crapper: Darrell Steinberg - 04/28/11 02:41 PM
The amazing thing about California is not that we're swirling inexorably into the crapper but that we've managed to avoid it for so long with clowns like this running the show. The only good thing you can say about Californian's Democratic leader pro-tem of the Senate Darrell Steinberg is that he will soon be termed out. This us it. Finito. He'll have to find another public teat to suckle. After all, he has milked our state for the past 13 years so next year he'll become just another illustrious footnote to our vainglorious history.

(WTF am I thinking?)
So today … (3 comments)

california legislature: Just another reason California's in the crapper: Tom Ammiano - 04/26/11 01:32 PM
Every once in awhile a legislator comes along who is just so horrendously, laughably bad that even by California's low bar, they are exemplary. If you're involved at all, you start to recognize the same names popping up time and again over the years to the point where any bill that has their name attached you just automatically assume is going to be bad - and it usually is. Too bad because sometimes they do have a cogent thought but not often enough to disregard the voluminous reeking detritus that daily disgorges from their oral orifice. 
The newest Drum Major for … (3 comments)

california legislature: California's Water Crisis - Kicked Down the Road 2 More Years - 08/10/10 09:32 AM
Well, there was some question as to whether it would happen or not but apparently little Johnny got his way so the $11 billion water bond initiative will be pulled from November's ballot.
Good riddance... or not.
 Many (myself included) would argue that we desperately need this bond to pass so we can start to address the chronic water problems that plague this state. And when I say 'desperately need' to do this, I'm not just whistling Dixie. The construction of additional storage damns is critical, the implementation of an alternative conveyance method (i.e. peripheral canal) should have been done … (2 comments)

california legislature: Another $40 Billion in Tax Increases? You Ready California? - 05/03/10 01:32 AM
Ahhhh, the tax & spend boys in Sacramento are at it again. $40 billion in proposed new taxes including the 3% withholding on Independent Contractors again. This is much easier than actually cutting spending or acting in a rational and prudent manner.  All you people voting for these liberal spenders, WHY?   
Kevin's Corner Are You Ready For The Big One?      I don't mean for the big one (earthquake) on the San Andreas fault line (although you should be ready), I mean are you ready for the big California Budget fight? Ahhh, I bet your first thought was "I couldn't … (0 comments)

california legislature: Debt Foregiveness? Watch Out For The Strings! - 04/09/10 05:22 AM
108 pages! 108 mind-numbing, single-spaced goddam pages!
The goal was simple - bring California's tax code regarding debt forgiveness - specifically regarding short-sales and foreclosures - into conformity with federal tax code.
In Sacramento nothing is simple, folks.
I was on a conference call with CAR Chief Lobbyist Alex Creel yesterday when he broke in to announce that both our Senate and Assembly had rushed a bill through and sent it to the Governor for signature. This was a 'cleaned-up' version of a bill the Gov. vetoed a couple weeks ago because it had a bunch of frivolous crap … (4 comments)

california legislature: Inmate Release Makes Communities Safer - Realtors® Beware/Be Aware - 04/07/10 12:44 PM
The headline in today's Californian sums it up pretty accurately - 'Violent Parolees not being watched'. Of course you've been keeping up with this prisoner release debacle that has saddled our state after the passage of AB 3X 14 last year. As many as 40,000 inmates will be released into our streets and cities and the exodus has begun. 
You may recall we were assured by the lying hypocrites that voted for it (21 Democrats. all 15 Republicans and 4 Democrats voted NO) that NO 'violent criminals' would be released. At the time the bill was passed I published a partial … (6 comments)

california legislature: Sen. Hollingsworth to Address SRCAR RAF Champions - 04/07/10 10:28 AM

The Southwest Riverside County Association of Realtors is pleased to announce that Senate Minority Leader Dennis Hollingsworth (R-Murrieta) will be our honored guest at a June 18th luncheon. Senator Hollingsworth has been a champion of legislation to benefit Southwest California during his tenure as as Assemblyman and more recently as Senator. Over the years he has also carried several bills on behalf of Realtors® and for property rights issues.
Senator Hollingsworth has been a staunch anti-tax crusader, a position that elevated him to his current role as Minority Leader when his predecessor got a little too chummy with the … (0 comments)

california legislature: Local Legislators Hold Summit on Jobs & Regulations, Pt 3 - 03/31/10 05:13 AM
Continued from Part 2.


Well, the litany of grievances was constrained to 3 hours but most panelists indicated they could go on for days about the negative shift in California’s business climate over the past decade.
Solutions? Not many. While several referred to the growing anger and activism of business owners, the prevailing majority legislative climate precludes any real progress unless or until people get really fed up. They recommended a cessation of new regulations, at least until we’ve figured out what the current regulations say. They cautioned our Legislators that California doesn’t necessarily have to take the … (0 comments)

california legislature: Local Legislators Hold Summit on Jobs & Regulations. Pt 1 - 03/31/10 05:11 AM

L to R: Miller, Emmerson, Jeffries, Nestande, Hollingsworth
66th District Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries recently hosted a Legislative Summit on Jobs and Regulations in California. Held in the Riverside County Supervisors Chambers, the dais included Jeffries, 65th District Assemblyman Bill Emmerson, 64th District Assemblyman Brian Nestande and 71st District Assemblyman Jeff Miller along with Senate Republican Leader Dennis Hollingsworth. 
During the 3 hour meeting, the Legislators listened much more than they talked as they heard from 3 separate panels of local business leaders and nationally recognized relocation consultant Joseph Vranich.
Of the 10 panelists who testified, Southwest County was … (0 comments)

california legislature: CA Legislators Finally Reach Consensus on 1 Item. No f**kin cussin' this week. - 03/01/10 07:33 AM
Never mind our state is f***in' bankrupt, the southern 2/3 of the state is running out of g**damn water, we're chasing jobs to neighboring states at a prodigious rate and people in Mississippi laugh at our education, prison & welfare systems. Our legislature managed to reach consensus on one item last week - a resolution to make the first week in March a 'cuss-free week' in the legislature with encouragement to make it a statewide movement. Yeah, no shit! They've got nothing better to do. 
The Genius who came up with this idea  (Anthony Portantino, D-La Canada/Flintridge) thinks everybody  should behave … (11 comments)

california legislature: Southwest California Legislative Council Takes Position on Early Bills - 02/22/10 10:48 AM

The Southwest California Legislative Council, with whom SRCAR is an advocacy partner, today adopted the following positions on current/pending legislation:
Support - ACA 30 (Jeffries) To abolish the office of Lieutenant Governor.     Self explanatory - this largely ceremonial position requires salary & staff expenses and the duties could be consolidated with the Secretary of State.Support - AB 1671 (Jeffries) To prevent the Governor from appointing vacancies on the County Board of Supervisors.    A recent example in Riverside County left us without the ability to pass certain bills at the county level while Sacramento played politics with us. Our local positions should … (0 comments)

california legislature: 3% Independent Contractor Withholding Dead Again (For Now) - 02/17/10 06:42 AM
The 3% IC withholding proposal which we defeated 3 times last year was again on the table last week courtesy of Senate President Darrell Steinberg. Those of you at Indian Wells recall the discussion that the idea would be in play again this year as it would presumably bring in an estimated $2.5 billion dollars to off-set the $20+ billion projected deficit. Of course the money would come in this year and have to be refunded next year digging an even deeper hole for the 2011 budget – but thinking a year ahead has never been a strong point in Sacramento. … (2 comments)

california legislature: Comments on New Mandatory CAR Political Action Investment. - 02/17/10 06:24 AM
SRCAR CEO Connie Lynch sent out an e-blast informing members of the recent decision by the California Association of Realtors® to spread the cost of political survival evenly across our membership rather than continuing to rely on 10% or 20% of members to bear the load. As expected, reaction was as mixed as it was during our BOD discussion at Indian Wells.
But the over-arching result from the feedback we received was that many of our members remain sadly misinformed on political matters in spite of years of effort to educate them. I guess it's the old 'lead a horse … (0 comments)

california legislature: CA Senate Illustrates Ongoing Egregious Cluelessness - No More Free Parking - 01/29/10 04:34 AM
Just when you think our Legislature might get a clue as to what's going on in the world they are quick to remind us - they are so far out of touch it's almost comical. Two items from today's news:
#1 - Our illustrious State Senate passed a bill yesterday cracking down on... FREE PARKING. Yeah, you read that right, FREE PARKING. They don't have enough to do figuring out how to make up a $20+ Billion budget deficit or how to get water to 70% of the state - they've got to stick their nose into yet another local issue. … (4 comments)

california legislature: California High Speed Rail Comes Off The Tracks - 12/29/09 07:11 AM
Well here's a surprise - our politicians lied to us. I know that comes as a shock to you, living as we do in this Utopian state we call California, but according to The San Jose Mercury News and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, we've been had. Again.
This time it has to do with the highly touted High Speed Rail system that has been proclaimed the fix to our state's transportation problems. If we only had a system that could get you from San Diego to San Francisco for half the cost of an airplane, would greatly reduce our 'carbon … (1 comments)

california legislature: Kaw Lee Four Nya iss in da Krappa (again). - 12/17/09 11:10 AM
I can hardly wait until after the first of the year when our legislators finally admit what we've known since the last budget was passed a few months ago - we're another $20+ billion in the hole.
Let's see... Maybe the liberal Democrats running the show will actually stand up to their union handlers and make some real cuts. 
Maybe they'll really eliminate some of the deadwood instead of hiring more.
Maybe they'll decide to cut money from education administration and use it for our students.
Maybe they'll actually eliminate a few of the worthless commissions and committees that regulate industries … (5 comments)

california legislature: CALIFORNIANS ! A true opportunity to make a difference in 'politics as usual'. - 11/21/09 06:38 AM
CALIFORNIANS  ! Are you tired of politics as usual in Our state? Have you had it up the kazoo with the stalemate in Sacramento that has lead us to sky-high taxes, reduced services, massive prisoner releases, water shortages, record unemployment and an education system that ranks among the worst in the nation? 
Did you know that through the last several election cycles we changed some faces (due to term-limits) but didn't manage to change any parties lines? Because the politicians drew their own district lines and if there's one thing politicians do well, it's protect their own ASSets. 
Well now regular … (11 comments)