Should California Take On More Debt for Schools?

By John Moorlach
09/11/2024
Californians tend to be credit card debt-laden and don’t seem to mind adding more debt to their monthly financial commitments. That may be why they, as voters, do not flinch when Sacramento legislators put bond measures on the ballot. These propositions usually receive enough votes to succeed and permit the state to borrow more money....

TAGS: John Moorlach

Revisiting 5 Rules for Successful School Bond Measures

By John Moorlach
08/04/2024
A quarter of a century ago, in conservative Orange County, two school bond measures were approved by voters, receiving more than two-thirds of the votes. This was something not seen in more than two decades. As the Orange County treasurer-tax collector at the time, many constituents were asking for my advice on such ballot measures,...

TAGS: John Moorlach

Newsom Provides False Commentary on His Budget Priorities

By John Moorlach
03/01/2024
Having served on the California State Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee during my six years in Sacramento, I was recently challenged to take a closer look at Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget. I started with his Jan. 10, 2024, budget message to the members of the California State Legislature. I was not amused. It...

TAGS: Charter schools, Finance, John Moorlach

A Surplus of Nonsense in the Governor’s Latest Budget

By John Moorlach
05/17/2022
There are two big days for a California governor, January 10 when the budget is presented and the May Revise when a few months of additional data and debate have passed. They’re both political documents, allowing governors to play with numbers. Few governors have been as sporting in that enterprise as Gavin Newsom. Last week,...

TAGS: California budget, John Moorlach, pension

Sacramento Loses Its Finest Legislator

By Edward Ring
11/16/2020
On November 13th, ten days after the election, and facing final counts that made any chance of victory impossible, California State Senator John Moorlach (R-37) conceded defeat to his challenger, Democrat David Min. Reached for comment, Moorlach said “we worked hard on fundraising, the ground game, the phone calls; we worked hard, and we had a...

TAGS: government unions, John Moorlach

Why is the Prison Guards Union Targeting Senator Moorlach?

By Edward Ring
10/06/2020
In a tight race, incumbent Republican state senator John Moorlach has been targeted by the prison guards union. In a report filed on October 1, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association Independent Expenditure Committee disclosed spending $910,705 on cable television ads and mailers opposing Moorlach. Running to unseat Senator Moorlach is Democrat Dave Min, whose campaign...

TAGS: John Moorlach

The Wealth Tax Steals Money and Time

By Edward Ring
08/18/2020
Can you imagine having to do an inventory and net worth calculation every year? Let alone potentially being audited and having to prove that values were not intentionally understated? It’s not only financial robbery, it’s time theft! – Senator John Moorlach, Moorlach Update, August 14, 2020 What Senator Moorlach is referring to is Assembly Bill 2088, which...

TAGS: John Moorlach

Seven reasons to question a state utility takeover

By Mark Lisheron
02/26/2020
On Feb. 3, state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, introduced a bill that would transfer to California taxpayers responsibility for the state’s largest and most troubled utility, Pacific Gas & Electric. The bill would give a new government agency, the California Consumer Energy and Conservation Financing Authority, the power to buy the assets and pay...

TAGS: Gavin Newsom, IBEW, John Moorlach, PG&E, Scott Wiener

Sacramento’s Software Incompetence in the Software Capital of the World

By Edward Ring
04/10/2019
California has a well-deserved reputation as the global epicenter of high technology. In nearly every critical area, from aerospace to biotech, nanotech to green tech, to telecommunications, to microchip design, California’s universities and private companies are some of best in the world and counted among the leaders. At the pinnacle of global achievement is California’s...

TAGS: California, Gavin Newsom, John Moorlach, technology

California’s Antiquated Legislature Can Update State Technologies

By Edward Ring
03/14/2019
In the birthplace of high tech, government financial statements exist only in PDF format. Last year, California’s state Senate and Assembly passed 1,217 pieces of legislation. Governor Brown signed 1,016 of them into law, and most took effect January 1st. Included were predictable acts of liberal zealotry – sanctuary for the undocumented, gender equity on corporate boards, gun...

TAGS: John Moorlach, technology, Transparency