California’s new budget covers $32 billion deficit without touching reserves

• June 27, 2023

By ADAM BEAM

SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democrats who control the state Legislature agreed late Monday on how to spend $310.8 billion over the next year, endorsing a plan that covers a nearly $32 billion budget deficit without raiding the state’s savings account.

The nation’s most populous state has had combined budget surpluses of well over $100 billion in the past few years, using that money to greatly expand government.

But this year, revenues slowed as inflation soared and the stock market struggled. California gets most of its revenue from taxes paid by the wealthy, making it more vulnerable to changes in the economy than other states. Last month, the Newsom administration estimated the state’s spending would exceed revenues by over $30 billion.

See more on the California budget: Legislators approve budget package — but what does that mean for Southern California? | Climate, business groups clash over Newsom’s proposed environmental law reforms | Transit, child care are among the sticking points in California’s $300 billion budget negotiations | Gov. Gavin Newsom spars with Fox News host Sean Hannity over Biden, immigration and the economy

The budget, which lawmakers are scheduled to vote on this week, covers that deficit by cutting some spending — about $8 billion — while delaying other spending and shifting some expenses to other funds. The plan would borrow $6.1 billion and would set aside $37.8 billion in reserves, the most ever.

“In the face of continued global economic uncertainty, this budget increases our fiscal discipline by growing our budget reserves to a record $38 billion, while preserving historic investments in public education, health care, climate, and public safety,” Newsom said.

Republicans criticized the budget plan as unsustainable, noting it would leave the state with projected multi-billion dollar deficits over the next few years. They said the state’s gas tax is scheduled to increase on Saturday, an automatic adjustment that is tied to inflation. Republicans have repeatedly tried to halt those increases, but to no avail.

“What do Capitol Democrats have in store for you this holiday weekend? Higher gas prices!” Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher posted on Twitter.

Budget talks stalled over the weekend as Newsom sought major changes to the state’s building and permitting process. Newsom said the changes are needed to speed up vital construction projects, including expanding the state’s energy capacity and upgrading the state’s aging water infrastructure.

But a group of lawmakers from the Central Valley feared Newsom was using the proposal to push through a long-delayed project to build a giant tunnel to send water to Southern California. In the end, Newsom got most of the changes he wanted — but lawmakers made sure the changes wouldn’t benefit the tunnel project.

The budget includes a lifeline for public transit agencies struggling to survive following steep declines in riders during the coronavirus pandemic. It allows transit agencies to use some of the $5.1 billion in funding over the next three years for operations.

Still, some San Francisco Bay-area lawmakers said the spending wasn’t enough to forestall painful service cuts over the next few years. Monday, they proposed legislation that would increase tolls on seven state-owned bridges — including the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge — by $1.50 over the next five years. State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco who supports the proposal, said it would generate $180 million in revenue.

Democratic state Sen. Steve Glazer said he would oppose any toll increase, saying in a statement “Transit riders and taxpayers have witnessed first hand the trail of broken promises by advocates for bridge toll increases.”

“The status quo is failure and we should not put in another penny to support it,” he said.

The budget does not raise income taxes to cover the deficit, but it does impose a new tax on managed care organizations — private companies that contract with the state to administer Medicaid benefits. The tax would generate an estimated $32 billion over the next four years.

Some of that money would go toward increasing how much money doctors get for treating Medicaid patients. It would also offer $150 million in loans to hospitals that are at risk of failing. That’s in addition to $150 million lawmakers approved earlier this year.

“In good years, we buckled down so that in tough years this one, we could meet our needs,” Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins said. “That pragmatic approach works for household budgeting, and it works for state budgeting.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Santa Ana College professor eyes state Senate seat

• June 27, 2023

Irvine resident Ali Kowsari is the latest addition to the slate of candidates running to represent Orange County residents in the state Senate.

Running for the seat in the 37th district, Kowsari said: “We need to create a better community and state, for our children’s sake, and the future of our state and our country.”

“My students want to find jobs, want to advance, want to find opportunities just like I did when I got here,” said Kowsari, who teaches international business and marketing at Santa Ana College. “At the local level, people are struggling. And to me, nothing can be done unless we change locally. Local and state regulations run our lives, and until that changes, we can’t truly be happy.”

Born in the U.S. to Iranian parents and raised in Iran, Kowsari said he grew up under a repressive regime where he faced “daily harassment and witnessed the severe consequences of questioning authority.”

“I was 7 when the (Iranian Revolution) happened, and so I was in the thick of it,” he recalled. “We went through eight years of war, daily bombings, no electricity, no heat. All forms of what they called ‘Western things’ were banned. Western music, alcohol, socializing with the opposite sex. The consequences were getting beaten up, getting thrown into small cells without any due process. It was absolutely brutal.”

Kowsari, who immigrated back to the U.S. in 1995 at the age of 23, said this unique experience, along with the time he spent in Orange County as an immigrant, business owner, professor and father, pushed him to run for office. He said he’s noticed a common theme of discontent in the people he’s talked to in the U.S., especially in the past few years.

“I’ve interacted and worked with people from all walks of life, from very young to grown-up adults,” he said. “Nobody seems to be happy. And it really bothers me that we live in the most advanced country in the world and a state that, by all measures should be the richest state, yet people are not happy and businesses aren’t thriving.”

As a business owner, Kowsari said his priorities include supporting policies that reduce regulations, lower taxes and provide incentives to “help small businesses so they may thrive and grow.”

“I strongly believe in the power of small businesses as they are the backbone of our economy,” said Kowsari. “Small businesses create jobs and foster innovation.”

Public safety is another priority of his, Kowsari said.

“It’s important to provide law enforcement with adequate funding and support to do their jobs effectively,” he said. “We must prosecute offenders to protect our communities, otherwise law and order is just an idea.”

Kowsari, who is a Republican, said Sacramento needs a balance and diversity of ideas. In order to achieve that, he said, people need to be willing to communicate with one another.

“If you have a ‘D’ or an ‘R’ in front of your name, you don’t want to talk to each other. And that’s part of the problem,” he said. “My plan is to bring an approach of being open to talk to anybody if they have a good solution. My neighbors who own businesses don’t care if it’s a Republican or a Democrat who solves their problem. They care if their problem is solved.”

The 37th Senate district — now represented by Sen. Dave Min, D-Irvine, who earlier this year launched a bid for California’s 47th congressional district — encompasses a wide swath of Orange County, including Laguna Niguel, Costa Mesa, Irvine and Orange.

So far, Kowsari will be up against another Iranian candidate, Alex Mohajer, as well as former Assemblymember Steven Choi in the primary. Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, who was drawn into SD-37 during the redistricting process, is also vying for the seat.

Kowsari plans to formally launch his campaign on Thursday, June 29 in Villa Park.

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​ Orange County Register 

Barbie’s Malibu DreamHouse available to rent on Airbnb ahead of movie’s release

• June 27, 2023

Pack your bags Barbie fans, this summer’s holiday destination is clear: The Malibu DreamHouse.

The pink pad will be available to rent in California this summer, but the house has been given a twist by Barbie’s beau Ken.

The “life-size toy pink mansion” sits above the beach and boasts “panoramic views,” according to an AirBnb listing purportedly written by Ken.

“Welcome to my Kendom! While Barbie is away, she has handed over the keys to her Malibu DreamHouse this summer and my room could be yours for the night,” reads the listing.

“I’ve added a few touches to bring some much-needed Kenergy to the newly renovated and iconic Malibu DreamHouse,” it adds.

The house is fitted out with cowboy gear, an outdoor disco dance floor, an infinity pool and a wardrobe full of clothes.

Guests can book from 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m ET) on July 17, with two one-night stays for up to two guests available on July 21 and July 22.

Those selected will also be able to take home Ken-style yellow and pink Impala skates and surfboard, the listing adds.

The DreamHouse is part of promotional efforts for the new “Barbie” movie from Warner Bros. which is set for release on July 21. Warner Bros., like CNN, is a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery.

“In celebration of BARBIE hitting theaters on July 21, and to honor girls’ empowerment, Airbnb will make a one-time donation to Save the Children,” the listing states.

In the Greta Gerwig-directed film, Barbie and Ken, played by Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling respectively, leave Barbie Land to explore the “real world.”

Creating the perfect backdrop for the upcoming movie required so much pink paint that it led to a global shortage, according to its production designer.

“The world ran out of pink,” said Sarah Greenwood in a recent interview with Architectural Digest.

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​ Orange County Register 

California’s crazy home prices: Down 18% then up 14%, all in one year

• June 27, 2023

“Numerology” tries to find reality within various measurements of economic and real estate trends.

Buzz: Deep discounts on California homes shrank this spring – especially to the south – as the purchasing pace is almost historically sluggish.

Source: My trusty spreadsheet reviewed May’s homebuying report from the California Association of Realtors.

Fuzzy math: Is the springtime price surge really a California housing rebound?

Topline

The median sales price for an existing California single-family house was $836,110 in May. That’s down 6.4% from a revised all-time high of $893,200 in May 2022. Prices fell in 42 of the 53 counties tracked.

But it’s been a pricing rollercoaster in the 12 months since the pandemic’s bubblish peak.

Start with the statewide median crashing 18% from May 2022 through February 2023 to $735,500. That $157,500 drop was tied to rising mortgage rates, which pushed many house hunters away and convinced numerous homeowners not to sell.

Since that recent bottom, this home-value yardstick rebounded by 14% – or $100,500 – in the three months through May 2023. Stabilizing mortgage rates, a traditional springtime buying rush, and limited options for house hunters bolstered pricing.

That leaves the median $57,000 off the all-time high, or 6.4%

All this turmoil stymied sales, as homebuying dropped 24% in these 12 months to an annual pace of 289,640. Purchases were down in all but two counties.

How slow is that? Well, my spreadsheet found only 37 months since 1990 had a sleepier sales pace than May – that’s just 9%.

Details

The crazy gyrations are by no means level from a geographical standpoint.

Yes, prices are lower just about everywhere – except for pricey coastal markets between Los Angeles and San Francisco. But the dips are larger the farther north you look. And sales drops were widespread.

Look across California, when sliced into five regions …

Far north: May’s $380,000 median is down 11% in a year after a 3% rebound since February. Sales fell 22% in 12 months.

Bay Area: $1.3 million median was off 11% even after a 24% rebound the last three months. Sales down 24%.

Southern California: $800,000 median was off 5% after a 7% rebound. Sales dropped 22%.

Central Valley: $485,000 median was off 5% after a 8% rebound. Sales dropped 20%.

Central Coast: $1 million median was up 0.5% after a 17% rally. Sales fell 17%.

Or ponder the state’s 10 most populous counties, ranking but their year-long price dips …

Alameda: $1.26 million median for May – off 17% in a year even after a 15% three-month rally. Sales down 27% in the year.

Contra Costa: $888,000 – off 11% (17% rebound) with sales down 28%.

Santa Clara: $1,788,000 – off 7% (19% rebound) with sales down 15%.

Sacramento: $535,000 – off 7% (7% rebound) with sales down 20%.

Los Angeles: $744,770 – off 7% (2.5% rebound) with sales down 21%.

San Bernardino: $455,000 – off 7% (after a 2.5% drop past three months) with sales down 23%.

San Diego: $935,000 – off 4% (7% rebound) with sales down 24%.

Orange: $1,256,500 – off 3% (8% rebound) with sales down 22%.

Riverside: $629,000 – off 3% (6% rebound) with sales down 23%.

Fresno: $420,000 – flat in a year after a 9% rally. Sales were down 17%.

Bottom line

So, who can afford a home at today’s prices?

Only a relatively small handful of first-time house hunters and not many current owners. That’s why sales activity is lethargic, similar to the economically stagnant early 1990s and the financial meltdown days of the mid-2000s.

Look at the Realtors’ affordability index. It suggests a Californian needed a $188,000 income to buy the median-price home in the first quarter. So only 20% of Golden Staters could afford to buy at the start of 2023 by Realtor calculations.

Yes, that’s dismal. But stunningly it was up from the 15-year low of 16% in 2022’s first quarter. And, FYI, this affordability marker has averaged 32% since 1991.

Now think of the rare Californian who can qualify to buy, then look at these recent price hikes. Add in mortgage rates – which dipped down to the 5% range early this spring – now near 7%. Affordability is abysmal.

And that’s why California homebuying will stay listless for an extended period.

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Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at [email protected]

​ Orange County Register 

Construction to start soon on barrier wall near San Clemente tracks

• June 27, 2023

A barrier wall made from steel beams and wood planks is being designed to protect trains that travel the tracks along the hillside that’s been sliding beneath Casa Romantica.

The wall will stretch along the tracks for as much as 300 feet and be possibly 15 feet tall. Construction could get started after the July 4 weekend.

The work will be done by the geotechnical firm Condon-Johnson & Associates Inc., which is the same company that did the emergency slope stabilization work further south along the tracks where 220 ground anchors had to be installed into the slope beneath the Cyprus Shores community because of movement.

The barrier project is a temporary fix to keep soil and debris from the slope above off the tracks and will help get passenger rail service running again, said Scott Johnson, a spokesman for Metrolink, which has trains using the tracks along with the Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner and freight trains.

Passenger service has been shut down since June 5 because land under the historic landmark began sliding again and landed on the tracks. Freight trains are the only rail service allowed to run and they must abide by strict rules, including slowing their speed in the area and having track inspectors on hand when passing by the location of the slide.

Passenger service has been halted multiple times in the last year. First for several months to make the repairs to the tracks further south and then again on April 27 after the initial landslide at Casa Romantica. Service was allowed to resume just before Memorial Day before being halted again.

The barrier project is expected to cost up to $6.5 million, Johnson said. The cost will be split between a $3 million allocation from the California Transportation Commission that was recently announced and local funding from the Orange County Transportation Authority.

Related links

More land slides beneath Casa Romantica, trains stopped through San Clemente again
San Clemente to spend $75K for geology study beneath Casa Romantica to determine extent of landslide
Land beneath Casa Romantica drops 10 feet, halts railroad service through San Clemente
More land sliding at Casa Romantica; residents evacuated, trains halted through San Clemente

Efforts to reinforce the hillside below the 2.5 acre Casa Romantica estate, the home of the city’s founder that is now used as a cultural and events center,    have struggled and, as recently as Monday, city officials say land movement has been observed.

Councilmember Steve Knoblock called the continuing movement “disappointing.”

The city-owned landmark is open to the public, but with limited access to parts of the estate. Its first post-landslide wedding was held two weeks ago.

Kiel Koger, the city’s public works director, said the City Council is expected to review more details at its July 18 meeting on next steps for the casa, including cost expectations and the scope of repair.

Those discussions could include anchoring bolts into the ground or spraying a sort of cement layer on the slope as support. The latter, Knoblock said, is what Southern California Edison did with an unstable slope under cliffs over Coast Highway at Capistrano Beach.

Knoblock said the concern now is that the “soil at the toe of the building is vertical,” which he said “is not an optimistic position.”

Nonetheless, motion detectors put into the soil around the actual building have not detected any movement.

“The casa is our crown jewel and culture center, ” Knoblock said. “And we will do everything we can to keep it.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Niles: These theme parks don’t draw huge crowds, but are still worth a visit

• June 27, 2023

Earlier this month, the Themed Entertainment Association and AECOM released their annual Theme Index report, detailing 2022 attendance at 20 top theme parks around the United States. Disney and Universal topped the list, but this week I want to talk about some of the parks that did not make the TEA/AECOM report.

Destinations such as Walt Disney World and Disneyland have earned their status by offering great rides and shows that attract a large and loyal audience. But several less-visited parks also offer attractions that rival those found at the top parks. These parks are worth considering by any family looking for something different, and perhaps less expensive, for their next theme park getaway.

Let’s start with the Legoland theme parks. Legoland California was the company’s first theme park in the United States, and Legoland remains the gold standard for families with elementary school-aged children. The Carlsbad park is offering a new action sports show this summer, and its mix of rides, shows and play areas aimed at young kids make it a compelling destination for families.

The Masters of Flight flying theater is among the attractions at Legoland California. (Courtesy of Legoland)

More from Robert Niles

Universal wins, Six Flags loses in annual attendance report
Why Disney’s Star Wars hotel was too much, for too few
With Arctic Rescue, SeaWorld stretches the definition of ‘family coaster’
SeaWorld scores a win with beautiful Abu Dhabi park
Here’s what’s missing from DisneylandForward

The Legoland parks in Florida and New York are worth a look, too, for families hitting the road this summer. Legoland Florida is built around the old Cypress Gardens attraction, and the New York park — which opened in 2021 — offers a Lego Factory Adventure ride that is one of the most technologically impressive dark rides in any theme park.

Back in California, theme park fans ought to consider a visit to California’s Great America in Santa Clara. The clock is ticking on this sister park to Knott’s Berry Farm, with owner Cedar Fair having signed a deal to close it no later than 2033. The park opened a refurbished NorCal County Fair land this summer, and its classic roller coasters such as Gold Striker, Demon and Patriot are always worth a ride.

Elsewhere around the country, road-tripping theme park fans might consider a stop in Iowa, where Lost Island Theme Park opened just last summer. Located in Waterloo, this park’s lineup includes Volkanu: Quest for the Golden Idol — an award-winning attraction from Sally Dark Rides, which has produced interactive rides for Legoland, Six Flags and other top parks around the world. That’s just one attraction in a park that offers a much more impressive attempt at theming and original backstory than one typically finds at regional amusement parks.

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Southern Indiana’s Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari remains one of my favorite family-owned parks in the United States. Offering free parking, free sunscreen and free soft drinks, Holiday World also includes three of the best wooden roller coasters in the country, along with a great Bolliger & Mabillard wing coaster, and Splashin’ Safari delivers the world’s biggest collection of water coasters.

Finally, check out Herschend Family Entertainment’s Silver Dollar City, in Branson, Mo., and Dollywood, in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Dolly Parton’s theme park and its sibling both deliver great thrills, fun entertainment and tasty food with friendly customer service.

Theme park fans do not have to limit themselves to the big parks. Plenty of great alternatives await those who are willing to look around for something fresh.

​ Orange County Register 

15 must-read books coming summer 2023 (and beyond)

• June 27, 2023

Summer is about more than beach reads.

Don’t get us wrong — there’s nothing wrong with taking something light and escapist to your favorite oceanside spot, but it’s also perfectly fine to retreat to the darkest, most air-conditioned room you can find with a book, a glass of water (or whatever), and try to forget that triple digits are on the way.

Related: 17 must-read summer romance novels

And you have a lot to choose from this summer. Whether you prefer literary fiction that will make you think, thrillers that will have you on edge, or nonfiction deep-dives into fascinating subjects, we’ve got you covered. 

Here are 15 of the most exciting titles to look forward to this summer.

“The Librarianist”

Author: Patrick deWitt

What It’s About: The latest novel from the beloved Canadian American author (“The Sisters Brothers,” “French Exit”) follows Bob Comet, a retired librarian in Portland, Oregon, who begins volunteering at a senior center — and comes to terms with his own complicated past.

Publication Date: July 4

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“Sucker”

Author: Daniel Hornsby

What It’s About: In the new satirical horror novel from the “Via Negativa” author, the owner of a punk-rock label is forced by his billionaire dad to get a real job. He does, at a biotech outfit that seeks to reinvent medicine, but he soon discovers dark (very dark) secrets inside the company’s sprawling campus.

Publication Date: July 11

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“When Crack Was King: A People’s History of a Misunderstood Era”

Author: Donovan X. Ramsey

What It’s About: L.A. journalist Ramsey revisits one of the most painful times in modern American history: the crack epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s, which devastated the lives of countless people. He argues the communities affected by the drug, and a racist policing and prison system, deserve resources to help them rebuild.

Publication Date: July 11

Related: 12 must-read mysteries for summer and beyond

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“Strip Tees: ​​A Memoir of Millennial Los Angeles”

Author: Kate Flannery

What It’s About: Flannery moved from Pennsylvania to Los Angeles at the turn of the millennium to take a job at a new clothing company called American Apparel, which soon became a staple of hipsters nationwide. Her memoir tells the story of her realization that there was something not right lingering at the heart of the hip, sex-positive company.

Publication Date: July 18

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“Onlookers: Stories”

Author: Ann Beattie

What It’s About: A new book from Beattie (“Love Always,” “Another You”) is always a reason to celebrate. Her latest one is a collection of short stories focusing on people in Charlottesville, Virginia, after the Unite the Right rally and in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Publication Date: July 18

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“Family Lore”

Author: Elizabeth Acevedo

What It’s About: Acevedo, the nation’s Young People’s Poet Laureate, is the highly decorated author of young adult novels including “The Poet X” and “Clap When You Land.” She makes her adult fiction debut this summer with a novel about a Dominican American woman who can predict the date people will die – and who summons her family and friends to a “living wake.”

Publication Date: Aug. 1

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“The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store”

Author: James McBride

What It’s About: McBride stunned readers with his novels including the National Book Award-winning “The Good Lord Bird” and the Gotham Book Prize-winning “Deacon King Kong.” His latest follows the residents of Chicken Hill, a tight-knit African American and Jewish neighborhood in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.

Publication Date: Aug. 8

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“Daughter of the Dragon: Anna May Wong’s Rendezvous with American History”

Author: Yunte Huang

What It’s About: L.A. native Wong was the world’s first Chinese American movie star, celebrated for her performances in “The Thief of Bagdad” and “Piccadilly.” This biography, written by UC Santa Barbara English professor Huang, follows her from Hollywood to Berlin to Shanghai — and then to Santa Monica, where she died in 1961 at the age of 56.

Publication Date: Aug. 22

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“The Deadline: Essays”

Author: Jill Lepore

What It’s About: New Yorker staff writer and Harvard professor Lepore has written books on subjects including King Philip’s War, Wonder Woman, and the data-mining Simulmatics Corporation. Her latest collects essays touching on everything from lockdowns to Bratz dolls (remember those?).

Publication Date: Aug. 29

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“Terrace Story”

Author: Hilary Leichter

What It’s About: Brooklyn author Leichter’s debut novel, “Temporary,” was a hit with critics and readers. Her sophomore effort is based on a short story she published in Harper’s magazine; it follows a family who discovers a secret terrace in their claustrophobic apartment, which only appears when a friend comes to visit.

Publication Date: Aug. 29

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“Happiness Falls”

Author: Angie Kim

What It’s About: Kim won an Edgar Award for her 2019 mystery novel “Miracle Creek,” which earned the author comparisons to authors including Celeste Ng and Liane Moriarty. Her new book tells the story of a Virginia family whose lives are thrown into disarray when their patriarch disappears without a trace.

Publication Date: Aug. 29

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“The Fraud”

Author: Zadie Smith

What It’s About: The British author of “White Teeth” and “On Beauty” returns with her first novel in seven years. It’s inspired by the Tichborne case, a trial that captured the imagination of the U.K. in the mid-19th century, in which an Australian man claimed that he was the rightful heir to a British baronetcy.

Publication Date: Sept. 5

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“The Vaster Wilds”

Author: Lauren Groff

What It’s About: One of America’s most celebrated novelists, Groff has a lot of fans — including former President Barack Obama, who called the author’s “Fates and Furies” his favorite book of 2015. Her latest novel follows a young servant girl who escapes her captivity and is forced to fend for herself in the wilderness.

Publication Date: Sept. 12

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“The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts”

Author: Loren Grush

What It’s About: Bloomberg News reporter Grush tells the true story of the six women who were selected by NASA to be astronauts, including Sally Ride, who became the first American woman to go to space, and Judith Resnik, who was killed in the 1986 Challenger disaster.

Publication Date: Sept. 12

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“American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15”

Authors: Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson

What It’s About: The two Wall Street Journal reporters team up on a book that explores the history of the rifle, which was invented in a Los Angeles garage by machinist Eugene Stoner – whose children said in 2016 he’d intended it for the military, not civilian, use. The book also asks why Americans are so obsessed with the gun, which has been used in mass shootings in the U.S. including the San Bernardino 2015 mass shooting and the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, which left 58 dead and hundreds injured.

Publication Date: Sept. 26

Related links

12 must-read mysteries for summer and beyond
S.A. Cosby says writers have to tell the truth. It doesn’t have to be pretty.
17 must-read summer romance novels
‘Translation State’ author Ann Leckie on Octavia Butler, AI & more
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​ Orange County Register 

On the Janus Supreme Court ruling anniversary, we remind public employees of their rights

• June 27, 2023

On this date five years ago, the United States Supreme Court freed public employees from forced unionization.  The court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME that public employees can’t be forced to pay fees to a union if they don’t want to pay dues. Today, we remind public employees of their Janus rights.

“The First Amendment is violated when money is taken from nonconsenting employees for a public-sector union; employees must choose to support the union before anything is taken from them,” ruled the court in a majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito in the Janus case.

The petitioner in the case was Illinois public employee Mark Janus who disagreed with many of the public policy and collective bargaining decisions of the union that represented him. Yet even as a non-member of union, he was compelled to pay “agency dues,” equivalent to about 78% of regular union dues. Ostensibly, this was to cover the cost of the union’s collective bargaining activities.

The case was a follow-up to Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, a case brought by Orange County teacher Rebecca Friedrichs challenging similar arrangements. Unfortunately, Justice Antonin Scalia died before the case was decided, yielding a 4-4 vote among the eight remaining justices.

Fortunately, both Friedrichs and Janus were ultimately vindicated and the First Amendment rights of public employees upheld by the court.

Public employees across the nation have rightly taken the opportunity to exercise their rights not to financially support unions they don’t want to financially support.

According to the Freedom Foundation, the four largest government unions in the country (AFSCME, SEIU, National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers) have lost 10% of their members, with more than 700,000 public employees dropping union membership.

Here in California, the California Policy Center has actively worked to educate and inform public employees of their right to opt-out of union membership and union dues. Those interested in opting out can visit https://mypaymysay.com.

Public sector unions, it must be remembered, are distinct from private sector unions. As good government activist Philip Howard recently put it, “Their incentives are different, because public workers are not at risk of overreach. If a private union asks for inefficient work rules, the company will go out of business or move to another place and they will lose their jobs. But government can’t move.”

All around us, Californians can see the harmful impact of public sector union overreach. From costly infrastructure projects to failing schools to antiquated public institutions, public sector unions are a drain on the public coffers and a barrier to innovation and reform.

​ Orange County Register