Turkey-Watching With Jill
With all the ridiculous last-minute bills flying around Sacramento right now, the only thing (save a wise decision from the Ninth Circuit Court) that might save California would be Gray Davis breaking all ten fingers. Political columnist and TV and radio commentator Jill Stewart runs down the turkeys lining up to be signed by Davis:
SB 796, by Joseph Dunn. Allows workers to seek fines of $200 each from firms who commit tiny labor violations. California's labor code is thicker than a Manhattan phone book. One code specifies a font size employee notices must be posted in. So 50 employees can now get $10,000 over improper fonts. More ice for our business climate. Dunn's special interest servicing of lawyers and unions is shameless.AB 1742. If your taxman has more than 100 clients, he now must send your return in via Internet. Your privacy is at risk.
AB 231, by Darrell Steinberg. "Reforms" the food stamp program, which required that nobody own a fancy car if taxpayers were buying their food. Up to now, car value was capped at $4,650. But now? Now, you can own a Rolls, and your household can own as many luxury cars as it wishes. Also, no more face-to-face interviews to qualify. Just give a buzz. Who's this for---busy, jobless billionaires? If it's really so poor workers can keep reliable cars, why wasn't a new cap set of $15,000? Did I mention that California's food stamp program is rife with fraud, and in particular is being targeted by con artists who are not poor?
What do you want to bet all of these, and more, become insta-laws? And what, exactly, are you waiting for? Get your own idiotic bill in today. If you've got a vote, Gray's got a pen!