Mmmmm. I smell a recall for Ahnuld. I posted some of Governator's woes such as laying off state employees, furlough for state employees unpaid days, forcing the state lawmakers to stay all night to pass the budget, cutting programs, delaying state tax refund checks, delaying pell grants for college students, Governator's officials billing personal mileages for business mileages, one of governator's officials resigned after getting caught receiving paid speaking fees from pharmaceutical companies, and now today's news is that 8,000 protesters protested on Sunday Arnold's tax increases [See SPB news]. With Schwarzenegger's approval ratings tanked with disgust from both political parties, I think this latest story that was passed along to me will be the last straw for Californians.
The wine-country trip cost $14,000. Trips to Egypt, Jordan, Israel, New Zealand, Australia and Spain are also reported in disclosure statements, as are Disneyland and Dodger tickets.
Reporting from Sacramento -- In the midst of intense state budget negotiations, Democratic lawmakers stole away to an elegant wine-country lodge where the gourmet meals, rooms and cocktails were provided by a trio of interests with much at stake in the Capitol.
Soon after the trial lawyers and the unions representing firefighters and carpenters covered the $14,000 tab, their agendas advanced in Sacramento.
Such getaways for lawmakers are commonly bankrolled by groups with business before the state, often while that business is pending.
"This is an unending problem in Sacramento, where lobbying groups bring politicians somewhere to wine and dine them," said Doug Heller, executive director of the group Consumer Watchdog. "No matter who they represent, groups think that's the way you play the game."
The December expenditures were disclosed last week in documents filed by lawmakers, who also reported that various other interests provided them with tens of thousands of dollars' worth of dinners, overseas travel and tickets to Disneyland, Dodger baseball games, rock concerts and golf tournaments.
The wine-country trip cost $14,000. Trips to Egypt, Jordan, Israel, New Zealand, Australia and Spain are also reported in disclosure statements, as are Disneyland and Dodger tickets.
Reporting from Sacramento -- In the midst of intense state budget negotiations, Democratic lawmakers stole away to an elegant wine-country lodge where the gourmet meals, rooms and cocktails were provided by a trio of interests with much at stake in the Capitol.
Soon after the trial lawyers and the unions representing firefighters and carpenters covered the $14,000 tab, their agendas advanced in Sacramento.
Such getaways for lawmakers are commonly bankrolled by groups with business before the state, often while that business is pending.
"This is an unending problem in Sacramento, where lobbying groups bring politicians somewhere to wine and dine them," said Doug Heller, executive director of the group Consumer Watchdog. "No matter who they represent, groups think that's the way you play the game."
The December expenditures were disclosed last week in documents filed by lawmakers, who also reported that various other interests provided them with tens of thousands of dollars' worth of dinners, overseas travel and tickets to Disneyland, Dodger baseball games, rock concerts and golf tournaments.
The two-day retreat was convened at the Wine and Roses hotel and spa in Lodi a day after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal emergency and ordered the Legislature to meet on a series of proposals to plug a projected $42-billion budget gap. The Consumer Attorneys of California, California Professional Firefighters and Northern California Carpenters Regional Council picked up the tab.
Read on.
Read on.
And there is more:
Sen. George Runner (R-Lancaster) received a $144 dinner at Morton's Steakhouse hosted by the California Bankers Assn. Sens. Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar) and Tom Harman (R-Huntington Beach) and Assembly members Audra Strickland (R-Thousand Oaks) and Cameron Smyth (R-Santa Clarita) were among those who received hundreds of dollars in tickets to Disneyland from Walt Disney Co.
Huff was also treated to a Jeep trip through the Sierra Mountains worth $840 by groups including the National Off-Road Assn.
Others went further afield.
State Controller John Chiang, a Democrat, attended a seminar in Egypt, Jordan and Israel, with the $13,211 cost covered by the Aspen Institute. Sen. Rod Wright (D-Inglewood) reported a trip to New Zealand and Australia, which cost $15,569 and was paid for by the California Foundation for the Environment and the Economy. The foundation receives dues from big energy companies.
The same organization paid more than $30,000 to send Assembly members Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks), Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) and Mary Hayashi (D-Castro Valley) to Spain to study water, high-speed rail and public-private partnerships for infrastructure.
Assemblyman John Perez (D-Los Angeles) visited Israel on a $4,900 trip funded by the Jewish Federation, and Assemblyman William Monning (D-Monterey) went to Jordan to teach at a conference at United Nations University, with nearly $500 of his travel costs covered by Global Majority Inc.
2 comments:
The new governor for Illinois pays for a lot of his trips himself, and he has a Super 8 discount card!
If only the Governator of Kalifornia had a mentaliity of the word "budget." All lawmakers have to change their ways of spending in these economic times.
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