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When a state commission decided in April, to take lease cars away from state legislators, Santa Rosa Sen. Noreen Evans’ unhappy reaction upset many of her
Noreen Evans
constituents. And she may not make any friends with her reaction to state Controller John Chiang’s announcement that legislators won’t be paid if a balanced budget isn’t passed by the June 15 constitutional deadline.
“It puts us in a difficult position because it holds the sword of Damocles over legislators’ heads,” Evans told the Sacramento Bee. “It creates a perverse incentive to adopt a budget whether or not it is the best one for the people of California.”
Proposition 25, approved by voters in November, rescinded the two-thirds vote requirement for passing a state budget. Another provision said lawmakers won’t get paid, or collect their daily expense money, unless the budget is passed on time.
In March, the state Senate and Assembly passed a budget bill that cut state spending by $14 billion. But to balance the books, Gov. Jerry Brown has asked for a five-year extension of temporary taxes that otherwise expire June 30. So far, he hasn’t been able to get that approved. The Legislature’s attorney produced a legal opinion saying Prop. 25 didn’t say anything about passing a balanced budget, so legislators had complied and were eligible to be paid. But Chiang, whose office cuts the checks, says legislators won’t be paid.
A lot of legislators are probably thinking what Evans is saying. I wonder if any of them will drive – make that march – to the courthouse to sue.
– Jim Sweeney
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I would not expect any other response from Evans. She has proven herself time and time again as incompetent and I hope all of those who voted for her got their wishes.
Kick the can and cry me a river.
Take YOUR pension, thou legislator, for
gee, however many years can you can stack
your term limits
against my years
of service
and vilify me for
wrecking your budget, doh,
and then totally dis me on the
entitlement aspect
like every day I went to work was exactly like being on
welfare, a leach and a drain…
Like paying this much of my money for Social Security and/or Medicare was something I done wrong the whole time…yikes, was I the only one to know that I was a…baby boomer?
Death, taxes, and a hundred or 2 payroll deductions, plus the slings and arrows!
Oh how she thought Prop 25 was going to be a sweet deal for the simple majority…she LOVED it..well, now that they cannot perform as usual…they don’t like it when it involves the full effect of the Prop happening…be careful Noreen what you politically want because you just may end up getting it. This was from Napa Valley Press back in October 2010 (Special note: look at the Supporter) LOL..political whores at their best
Proposition 25
Citing two decades of chronically late budgets, Proposition 25 hopes to reduce the two-thirds threshold required in both the Assembly and state Senate to pass a budget, to a simple majority vote.
Supporters — including Assemblymember Noreen Evans — say that Proposition 25 would prevent the budget from being held hostage by a minority of lawmakers.
Opponents believe that successful passage of Proposition 25 would allow the majority party to simply ram through a budget without having to make concessions to the minority members.
Both the Napa Chamber of Commerce and the Napa County Board of Supervisors have opted to remain neutral on the measure, while the Napa County Taxpayers Association opposes it.
From the Palm Beach Post: On her first day as executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, Melissa Meeker dismantled the district’s executive management team and slashed salaries, including her own.
“We owe it to the taxpayers to limit spending, eliminate unneeded bureaucracy and refocus the agency on its core mission,” Meeker wrote in an email to district employees late Wednesday afternoon. “We will no longer take on responsibilities outside of our purview or operate with inflated budgets and salaries.”
Evans and every other California politician could learn a lot from Meeker.
no labels please – they are all whiners- let’s do like Israel – make it mandatory that each man and woman has to serve in some capcaity in government AT NO PAY for a period of two years; or if you really want to serve your state or country (sans war) you do so as a volunteer – who ever set the bar that being a legislator entitled you to make big bucks and have CEO perks.
“It creates a perverse incentive to adopt a budget whether or not it is the best one for the people of California.”
OH! and like the old process led to the “best” budget for the people of California? NOT!
Noreen, you are so out of touch with the voters it is beyond comprehension. It’s time for you to resign and make room for someone who isn’t as clueless as you seem to be.
In reality, most of the comments here hit the bulls-eye.
Better a Republican, independent or Tea Party member than a clueless, intolerant, guilt-ridden liberal who helps puts whiney, out-of-touch politicians such as Evans and Woolsey in power, or voted for the current White House incompetent simply because he was black. Liberals blindly preach diversity except where it counts, in ideas. Just looks around Sonoma County to see the kind of chaos this mob-think can create.
Using Evan’s logic, anytime there is a deadline, and getting paid is attached to that deadline, a “bad product” will result. All restaurants, provider of services, and deliverer of products should rethink their customer service pledges and missions. Ms. Evans does not get it. We citizens want a budget, we want a functioning and sustainable government that can deliver services regardless of the economic upticks and downturns. In order to get that, our elected officials need to work hard to represent all of us. Ms. Evans is smart. I am sure she can figure out what will happen if she continues to spend her energy and time on complaining about having to do her job in order to get paid. Just like the real world-you hit the road and get another job.
Noreen,
You are SO out of touch with your constituents. Just keep the “woe is me” act up when Sonoma County’s unemployment rate is 9.8%, pretend it’s another bad joke nobody laughed at and just maybe you will be replaced. YOU work for the people. So step it up and do your job. Or better yet… resign.
Liberal Noreen, the credit card queen,
we think she’s alone in the things that she’s done, but up in Sacramento Noreen’s not alone, the Democrat party is spending us broke.
What would be the point of the initiative if it wasn’t implemented???
Isn’t part of her job to handle the issues by priority??? If she has the time to write and present the bill for the protection of a woman’s maternity leave, then shouldn’t she also have the time to focus on one of the constitutionally mandated functions of government, a balanced budget? Honestly, I’m not sure why she would make these comments and I’m glad she doesn’t represent me, although frankly, my representative isn’t much better, but he is better then this…
Did you hear of MS Evans campaigning against Prop 25? Hmmmm, I didn’t either. If this was such a threat to a good budget, just why didn’t she campaign against it? It shows that MS Evens is but a reactionary, not a visionary and ill suited to represent her constituents.
No worries Chris & Anthony she has the (D) behind her name, she’ll be elected to what ever office she wants to run for in the future. After all she hasn’t gotten in several accidents in her state furnished car like a past legislator.
RECALL HER NOW! Why wait?
WOW, you can sure see that the Hon. Evans has got money, hers on her mind. Is this a Freudian slip in action or what. And these are only public comments. First that she needs a better car allowance, and now thinks they make a better budget decision by getting paid.
It does not work and that is why the new law, no pay if no budget. And a continued “Let them Eat Cake” moment from the California that is like the South of France. Let them eat cake Hon. Evans, and ride in a carriage.
WOW, no one learns from history. Another reason California is broke and wil not get fixed. Marie moments.
Prop 25 passed 55/45.
The latest figures show the percent of likely voters in California who are Republican is a hair above 30%.
Sorry Anthony, it would seem a lot of Democrats are fed up with “budget as usual.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110330/tr_ac/8165207_factbox_independent_voters_in_california
I would be happy to pay more taxes if I felt they would go to actual WORK, (ie. fixing roads/infrastructure), rather to ever fatter pay and bennies for the upper tiers of government employees, which, to be fair, Ms. Evan is NOT one of.
Her pay and bennies, and those of her fellow legislators, have been hit hard, and, remember, our legislators get zippo, zero, nada in terms of Pension.
We just want our legislators to implement some austerity measures to cut the ever increasing, and unsustainable, cost of the government bureaucracy.
Oh, and some serious Tort Reform would be nice!
Chris,
Do you mean as compared to all the sound and balanced budgets they’ve passed in recent years when there was no threat of withholding pay?
Noreen might have a point if she could point to meaningful budgets adopted in the past. But given that the pre-Prop 25 system produced only illusory budgets full of accounting gimmicks, smoke and mirrors, what’s wrong with trying something new?
Anthony,
Aren’t you just shooting the messenger? What is your gripe with the PD? Sure, we’d all like to see some more thoughtful posts here, but how is it the PD’s fault that there aren’t? I thank the PD for providing this forum and encourage you and others who find the current posts objectionable to participate in the discussion rather than complaining about those who do. If all you want to read are comments in line with your way of thinking, subscribe to Michael Allen’s Facebook page. You won’t be dissapointed.
Sorry Anthony,
I don’t worship at the altar of Government.
Those clowns are my employees, and if they don’t work up to my expectations, they get their benefits and pay cut.
If they still do not perform to my expectations, they get fired.
Just like in the real world that those 25 eeeeevil rightwingers have to live and work in.
It’s a whole new world here in the brokest state in the brokest nation in world history.
Get with it, or get left behind like the Hon. Ms. Evans.
Wow. More mean spirited and ugly commentary from the pea(NUTS!) gallery. These boards are so incredibly overfilled with snark and stupidity and personal attacks that it’s obvious the same 25 right wingers make all the posts. If you look at the “polls’ you would know this since they are also overwhelmingly out of whack(yes lets drill on the coast for oil!) Thanks to the PD for creating a public platform for the Tea Party! Mean spiritied, anti government, anti environment, anti-tax negativity is just what our community needed! Thanks Ted!
Left wing Noreen, the credit card queen,
Thinks the tax payer’s money is exclusively hers.
Toss Noreen out of office with a political curve,
At In-N-Out Burger she’ll learn how to serve.
Next Evans maybe running away from home. First she was grounded and her car taken away. Now her employer, the mean old voters, want her to do her job and she doen’t feel like it.
If Evans ever finds herself in the adult world she may follow her followers, SEIU and go on strike. We can only hope she decides to sit out the rest of her term at home in her room and stay away from Sacramento. That will show them!
Wow, these comments are so far from recognizing reality. I hope our legislators do their job by fighting for our interests, not just voting to approve something so they can get their checks. Evans is right to point out the flaws in this policy and I appreciate her honesty.
Earth to Noreen > “Rome is burning – let’s drop the fiddle”.
With all respect to Pat Wiggins who has a real medical problem, Noreen Evans is starting to make Wiggins look positively sane!
As usual Ms. Evans displays her idiocy and super left wing ideas! vShe is a moron who needs to be kicked out of tax payer supported office!
Noreen, do your job or lose your pay. You can also do us all a favor and take your immensely underpaid and underappreciated talent to the private sector. Good luck with that by the way.
In the private sector, those of us who fail to do their jobs swiftly wind up sans paycheck.
Of course, Ms. Evans feels she should be exempt from this widely accepted technique for controlling employee behavior.
Ms. Evans may think that being held accountable creates a “perverse incentive.” to do the job she was elected to do. I think her bratty whining gives me a perverse incentive to vote for anyone who opposes her in the next election. even if that someone were Daisy Duck.