Dave Cox Senate Report: May 2007

Prison Construction and Rehabilitation

On April 26 th, the Legislature passed Assembly Bill 900 which will start the process of building 53,000 new state prison and local jail beds in California. I supported this legislation because of the urgency of the prison overcrowding situation in our state, and the possibility of federal judges taking actions that would be injurious to public safety. This package is a compromise plan that upholds my commitments to making public safety a top priority and to provide assistance and funding to local communities that have suffered because of the impacts of state prisons in the past.

These additional prison beds provided by this legislation will prevent the early release of dangerous criminals back into our neighborhoods as has been threatened by federal courts currently reviewing the California prison system for poor health care and treatment of inmates with mental illnesses.

AB 900 includes much needed funding to lessen the negative impacts of prisons on our local communities. $300 million dollars is dedicated to improve water treatment and other environmental problems at state prisons. Some of these funds will be used for Mule Creek State Prison to improve its water treatment plant to prevent the continuance of groundwater pollution in the City of Ione in Amador County.

The Governor and Corrections Secretary Tilton have also assured me that they are committed to address the adverse impacts of current prison facilities on local communities. Part of the funds committed by AB 900 to construction projects will be used to mitigate the impact of the increased inmate populations on local communities.

While I do not like everything in this compromise measure, I am satisfied that it has the necessary amount of funding to pay for impacts on local communities, and more importantly, it protects public safety by preventing the early release of prisoners from state prisons.

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Where Do Your Tax Dollars Go?

In this newsletter we have often discussed the budget process in California. Since this is tax time in America, we should discuss the issue in more detail.

In 1935, California enacted the Personal Income Tax Act, which levies a tax on income earned by individuals and certain types of businesses, including sole proprietorships and partnerships. Other types of businesses (e.g., corporations) are taxed under the Corporations Tax laws. Every year, millions of Californians file their tax returns and surrender tens of billions of dollars to the state’s coffers. After the April tax deadline, taxpayers are left wondering why they paid so much in taxes and where their tax dollars went.

The General Fund, which provides the lion’s share of state spending, derives 98 percent of its revenues from various tax collections. These include taxes on income, sales of goods, corporations, motor vehicles, alcohol, and tobacco, etc. By far, the largest single source of revenue into the General Fund is the Personal Income Tax (PIT), which makes up 54.2 percent, or $51 billion, of all General Fund revenues for fiscal year 2006-07. The remainder comes primarily from taxes on the sale of goods and property, expected to be approximately $28 billion (30 percent), and income taxes on corporations of about $11 billion (11.2 percent). In a nutshell, more than half of the state’s General Fund spending comes from income taxes, with about one-third from sales taxes, and the remainder from taxes on corporations. Where does this money go?

According to the budget plan approved by the Governor and the Legislature for 2006-07, approximately 40 percent will be spent on kindergarten through high school education programs; 29 percent on health and welfare programs; 11 percent on colleges; and 9 percent on prisons. The remaining 11 percent is spent for other purposes, such as the Legislature, the Executive Branch, the courts, and general government activities.

According to national surveys, California ranks 9th in the country for the highest tax collections per capita. For some, that is not enough.

Some policymakers believe that the way to fix a problem, such as our ailing schools and deteriorating highways, is to throw more money at it. If that is the solution, then how does one explain the fact that California has the 4th highest gasoline taxes in the country, but ranks near bottom in highway and road construction? Or that California’s teachers are the 3rd highest paid in the nation, but our children rank 44th in national academic assessments?

Since January alone, Democrat legislators have authored bills to saddle Californians with even more taxes. SB 1014 (Kuehl) increase taxes outright on combined incomes over $200,000 for the purpose of funding universal health care. While meritorious in its intentions, is it wise to grow our $130 billion-a-year bureaucracy on the backs of the taxpayers when mismanagement in our government agencies goes on unchecked?

Tax dollars do not belong to the government. They belong to the people. As officials elected to represent the people’s interests, it is imperative that we take a hard look at how we are spending the people’s money. I did this as a member of the Senate Budget Committee last year. Tax revenues are necessary to fund a variety of public services. However, before more government expansion is contemplated, officials need to examine existing programs and determine how those programs may be improved. This approach would not only reduce the call for more taxes, it could make government programs more efficient and cost-effective.

The early pioneers came to California in search of economic opportunities. Today, residents and businesses are leaving because of higher taxes, more expensive living costs, and government over-regulation. It would seem that the opportunities of the early days have vanished, much like the money that taxpayers are compelled to pay each April.

The Legislative Analyst’s office has recently published a very useful guide on California’s Tax system. You can obtain this report online at: http://www.lao.ca.gov/2007/tax_primer/tax_primer_040907.aspx.

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West Nile Virus Alert

The rain has stopped (well, almost), the sun is out, and the mosquitoes have started to breed again.

Mosquitoes can carry the West Nile Virus (WNV), a disease that affects the central nervous system of humans and animals who contract the disease when bitten. The overwhelming majority of people who are bitten never display symptoms of the disease, but some people have suffered severe symptoms. Everyone should take precautions to prevent themselves from contracting the disease and from allowing mosquitoes to breed on their property.

According to California’s Public Health Director Mark Horton: “Californians should begin taking precautions to protect themselves from mosquito bites by eliminating all sources of standing water that can support mosquito breeding and applying insect repellent containing DEET."

WNV was first detected in California five years ago. So far this year, no human cases of WNV have been identified. However, the virus has been detected in mosquito pools, sentinel chickens or horses in eight counties: Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Santa Clara, San Diego, Sonoma and Stanislaus.

In 2006, a total of 292 human WNV infections, including seven deaths, were reported in the 54 counties that detected WNV activity. Of the 58 horses that also tested positive for WNV, 24 died or were euthanized.

California's WNV Web site has been updated to make it easier for the public to find the latest information on WNV activity in the state. In addition to reporting all dead birds, Californians are encouraged to report dead tree squirrels. The Web site also includes information on the most common birds found with WNV. Dead birds and squirrels can be reported on the Web site or by calling (877) 968-2473.

The State’s website can be located at http://www.westnile.ca.gov/.

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Quotes Of The Week

“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.”
-Albert Einstein

“I'm proud to pay taxes in the United States; the only thing is, I could be just as proud for half the money.”
-Arthur Godfrey

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