The Golden Acorn
California Squirrel doesn’t just focus on the negative. The Golden Acorn is handed out to legislators and legislation with eyes on the prize to get California back on track. The Golden Acorn taps legislation focused on the three prongs of jobs creation: reducing taxes and fees, cutting regulations and eliminating opportunities for frivolous litigation.
Send your recommendations for The Golden Acorn to squirrel@californiasquirrel.com.
Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) Develops Congressional Popularity Graph
The good Senator voiced his dissatisfaction about the abysmal Congressional approval rating, currently around 9%. In an interview on MSNBC, the Senator pointed out that “for the last year or so this town has effectively come the land of flickering lights, where the standard for success is somehow you kept the lights on for the month where the rest of the world isn’t waiting for us to figure out how we’re going to meaningfully participate in the 21st century economy.” With an approval rating of 9%, says Senator Bennet: “We’re almost at the margin of error for zero.”
For acknowledging that the Emperor has no clothes, Senator Bennet earns a Golden Acorn.
Assemblyman Brian Nestande (R-Palm Desert) Wants Fewer Bills!
Assemblyman Brian Nestande (R-Palm Desert) wants to restrict each Assembly member to thirty (30) bills — ten (10) fewer than now allowed (HR 5). That could shelve as many as 800 bills a session! We salute you Assemblyman Nestande for your efforts and thus award you the Golden Acorn! Congratulations!
Assemblyman Norby Lends Sole “NAY” Vote to Oppose Squirrel Legislation
Last week, the Assembly approved ACR 147 sponsored by Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) and Roger Niello (R-Sacramento) declaring April to be “Financial Literacy Month” in order to “raise public awareness about the need for financial literacy”.
In the words of Assemblyman Chris Norby, “Imagine—the legislature pontificating to the public about financial literacy, with the budget record we have! The state budget is a big example of financial illiteracy! It was a voice vote, and I did vote “NAY”. In the lone voice opposing this proclamation, I said “Instead of an empty declaration on financial literacy, we should set a good example by first passing a balanced budget on time!”
Senator Lou Correa Calls for Senate to Send Governor Homeowner
Tax Protection Bill He Can Sign
SACRAMENTO, CA – State Senator Lou Correa (Orange County) is pressing his fellow State Senators to protect thousands of California families by sending the Governor vital legislation that would prevent needless harm from falsely taxing phantom gains of former homeowners.
According to Senator Correa, “The Governor has made it abundantly clear that the onerous anti-business provisions included in Senate Bill X8 32 would compel him to veto the entire measure. Accordingly, the measure’s well-intentioned taxpayer protections must be regarded as a purely illusory action.”
The Orange County Senator continued by stating that a reform bill he is jointly authoring (SB 25), is in place and ready to be adopted, if only other members would put aside differences and act quickly to put the reforms in place before the April 15 tax filing deadline. “We have passed similar legislation before and we can do it again today,” said Senator Correa. In 2008, Senators Correa and Michael Machado authored Senate Bill 1055 (SB 1055) which established California’s conformity to the federal cancellation of debt (COD) income exclusion. This provided state income tax relief to distressed California homeowners who had to terminate mortgage loans for a principal residence due to a short sale or a loan restructure. The tax relief provision of this law expired in January 2009.
Senators Correa and Ron Calderon are jointly authoring Senate Bill 25 in the eighth extraordinary session (SB8X 25) which would extend relief to California homeowners who continue to be plagued by the injustices of tax on a phantom gains, a taxable event generated by foreclosure.
According to Realtytrac®, a real estate research firm, 632,573 properties in our state received a foreclosure filing in 2009, creating a severe economic impact on California families. In Orange County alone, 38,576 families faced foreclosure in the same year.
The Correa and Calderon measure to extend the provisions of the previous measure, from January 1, 2009 until January 1, 2013, and would also increase the qualifying amount of excluded income from $250,000 to $500,000 (from $125,000 to 250,000 in the case of a married individual filing a separate return).
“You have a family that just lost their home, then the state tells you that you owe taxes on the amount you lost, which makes no economic sense,” said Senator Correa. “The housing and mortgage crisis is not over yet. We need to press harder to make sure that homeowners are not taxed on income that never existed. Senator Calderon and I are working together with our fellow lawmakers to have this bill approved by both houses and by the Governor.”
