California Reintroduces Its Own Dream Act

Pass the California DREAM Act
California Assemblyman Gil Cedillo reintroduced a bill today that would make undocumented College Students in California eligible for in-state Financial Aid. Prospects for passage of the California DREAM Act are brighter this year since Governor Jerry Brown said he supported a previous version of the bill, while Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed it three times. As a state measure, the law would have no effect on an applicant's Immigration status, which falls under federal authority. Even so, pas...

California lawmaker revives bill to give undocumented students access to financial aid
A bill that would grant undocumented California Students access to Financial Aid is being revived in the State Legislature this week. The California DREAM Act would allow Students who are Illegal Immigrants to benefit from the same Financial Aid as other California Students attending the state's public colleges and universities. Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, introduced the bill Tuesday based on one he first proposed as a State Senator in 2006. The previous version passed in the state S...

New bid launched for college aid to undocumented students
A new push to allow longtime California residents who are undocumented immigrants to receive college financial assistance was launched today by a Los Angeles lawmaker. Assemblyman Gil Cedillo is counting on new Gov. Jerry Brown , a Democrat heavily supported by Latino voters last year, to be more receptive to the issue than former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger , a Republican who vetoed similar measures last year. Cedillo's bills would apply to undocumented immigrants who have attended California ...

Gov. Brown strips cell phones from state employees
(01-11) 18:40 PST Oakland -- Gov. Jerry Brown issued his first Executive Order Tuesday, taking aim at a convenience that wasn't in vogue the last time he was the state's Top Official: cell phones. The Governor ordered state agency and department heads to collect half of the approximately 96,000 state-issued cell phones used by Public Employees, a move he said will save California at least $20 million a year. Brown also plans to return his own state-issued cell phone, said Evan Westrup, a spok...

Gov. Brown strips cell phones from state employees
(01-11) 18:40 PST Oakland -- Gov. Jerry Brown issued his first Executive Order Tuesday, taking aim at a convenience that wasn't in vogue the last time he was the state's Top Official: cell phones. The Governor ordered state agency and department heads to collect half of the approximately 96,000 state-issued cell phones used by Public Employees, a move he said will save California at least $20 million a year. Brown also plans to return his own state-issued cell phone, said Evan Westrup, a spok...

Higher education leaders anxious about cuts in proposed California budget
Gov. Jerry Brown's proposals to slash state spending on Higher Education has triggered anxiety across California's already Budget-battered public colleges and universities about possible new waves of staff and faculty Layoffs, reductions in class offerings and higher Tuition bills. Administrators said it was too soon to say definitively how they would respond if the Legislature approves the $1.4 billion in proposed state funding cuts for the University of California, California State University...

Illinois governor to "reflect" before death penalty decision
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois | Wed Jan 12, 2011 2:11pm EST SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (Reuters) - Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said on Wednesday he would "reflect" on the death penalty ban passed by the State Legislature before deciding whether to sign it. "Anyone in Illinois who has an opinion, I'm happy to listen and reflect and I'll follow my conscience," Quinn told reporters. If he agrees to the ban, Illinois will be the first state since 2009 to abolish executions. The Illinois Senate voted for the ban T...

Governor Brown appointment January 12 2011
Governor Jerry Brown today announced the following appointment. Karen Ross, 59, of Alexandria, VA, has been appointed Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. She has been Chief of Staff with the United States Department of Agriculture since 2010. Previously, Ross served as President of the California Association of Winegrape Growers from 1996 to 2009. She was the Vice President of Government Relations for the Agricultural Council of California from 1989 to 1996. Ross serv...

Marriage Equality Hero Gavin Newsom Sworn-In as California Lt. Governor
Gavin Newsom Sworn-In as Lt. Governor on Monday Official Photo Applause interrupted Openly Gay Speaker of the Assembly John A. Perez during his remarks before former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom was officially sworn in as California’s Lt. Governor on Monday.  In 2004, “his bold leadership ushered in a sea change in attitude towards marriage equality,” Perez said. The ceremony had its formal moments in the grand chamber - including the official swearing-in offici...

USA Funds Helps Families Apply for Financial Aid for College
INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- USA Funds®, a nonprofit organization that helps American families benefit from postsecondary education, advises families planning to send Students to college during the 2011-2012 Academic Year to take advantage of free help in applying for Financial Aid. USA Funds is sponsoring College Goal Sunday in 10 states during the next several weeks to help Students and families navigate the financial aid process. The events will provide free assistance wi...

Va higher ed gets proposed funding infusion
Virginia's public colleges and universities will be eligible to apply for $50 million to enhance Student enrollment and retention, increase the number of students pursuing science and health-care fields, and boost undergraduate Financial Aid. Dan Ix, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia's finance policy director, said Tuesday that institutions must apply for the funding by submitting proposals to Secretary of Education Gerard Robinson. The grants would go to institutions who propos...

Gaston Caperton: Trends in College Pricing
If there's one thing I've learned as the president of the College Board, it's this: every person is born with the fundamental capacity to learn. The only question is whether that capacity is neglected or nurtured. Unfortunately, even at the outset of the 21st century, lower income Students remain underrepresented in Higher Education because of socioeconomic barriers like cost and unequal access to high quality schools. Five decades after the Supreme Court struck down "separate but equal," hig...

Virginia State Legislature To Consider Bill To Ban Undocumented Immigrants From College
Virginia's Republican-controlled State Legislature is slated to consider a piece of Legislation this session that would prohibit undocumented immigrants from attending public colleges or universities in the commonwealth. The bill, set to be introduced by GOP Del. Christopher Peace, is just the latest attempt by Virginia Republicans to block undocumented individuals from enrolling in state-funded institutes of higher learning. Earlier versions of the legislation, which also included strict immi...

Adam Kissel: UC Berkeley Chancellor Blames Arizona Shooting on 'Hateful Speech'
Yesterday morning, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau e-mailed the campus community with regard to the horrendous Mass Shooting in Arizona that killed a Federal Judge, a 9-year-old girl, and several others while gravely injuring Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the apparent target of the attack. Like many others in the News Media and on blogs and Twitter, Birgeneau chose to put the blame for the shooting on the "climate" of Speech in Arizona, while lamenting what he sees as similar problems at...

Voters say they dont want spending cuts
According to one poll, anyway. Voters gave Republicans an overwhelming victory in November, leaving the GOP with nearly two-thirds of the seats in the Legislature and every statewide office. Many have interpreted the election as a clear call for Spending Cuts, and in fact, a Texas Newspapers poll conducted in the weeks before the election showed that voters prefer spending cuts to higher taxes. But the new poll shows voters want more than half of the state Budget protected. Some 70 percent of ...

LA County CEO: Brown's Budget Will Hurt
Los Angeles - A top public official said Tuesday he's worried about whether Los Angeles County will have enough funding to support Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to shift a host of responsibilities from the state to counties. County CEO Bill Fujioka told county supervisors that California's most populous county should embrace Brown's proposal to restructure State Government to help resolve a projected $25.4 billion Deficit. Brown on Monday called for $12.5 billion in Spending Cuts, including reduct...

'Complications' doom Bill Honig's appointment to state education board
Just days after his appointment was announced, Bill Honig has withdrawn from consideration as a member of the state Board of Education, though the former head of California's schools says he plans to remain an influential figure in education. Honig, whose 1993 conviction on conflict-of-interest charges made him a Controversial choice for the state board, said there had been "some complications" with his candidacy. "I'm not going to go into it," Honig said Monday. "I talked with Gov. (Jerry) Br...

Enterprize zones targeted by Brown, angering businesses
Redevelopment supporters aren't the only ones angry at Gov. Jerry Brown over his proposed cuts to programs aimed at stimulating Economic Development in depressed areas: He's also ticked off businesses and other supporters of "enterprise Zones." Supporters say the zones -- which allow Local Governments to offer Tax Credits to businesses that invest in underserved and low-income areas that meet certain requirements -- help create jobs and keep businesses in California. (There are currently 42 o...

Jerry Brown's tough budget hinges on big if
Gov. Jerry Brown had promised to deliver a "tough Budget for tough times." He kept his word Monday. Brown proposed to close a Budget gap with a combination of $12.5 billion in cuts, $12 billion in revenue. It contained something for just about everyone to hate, as it sliced into almost every aspect of State Government except for K-12 education. As austere as Brown's Budget appeared - shrinking the $92 billion general fund to $84 billion in the Fiscal Year that begins July 1 - it is held togeth...

Venezuela scraps university law
Venezuela's national assembly has scrapped a Controversial Education Reform law that would have increased government control over universities. The bill was part of a raft of Legislation passed by supporters of President Hugo Chavez last month in the final days of the outgoing parliament. But the new assembly voted to scrap the measure after Mr Chavez said he would Veto it following widespread criticism. Student Protesters said the law threatened university autonomy. The education law wa...

Kansas Bill Would Stop Mental Health Exception for Late-Term Abortion
Previously in Kansas,  late-term Abortion practitioners like George Tiller have been able to merely cite the law when doing abortions on unborn Children later in Pregnancy rather than providing medical reasons that supposedly justify the abortion. Kansas law currently bans post-viability abortions unless the continuation of the Pregnancy would present a “substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function” of the pregnant woman. Since 2000, that law has been inter...

Change You Can Xerox: Guv Budget Mimics Legislature's, Plus: More On The Union Pacific Deal, And: Back On The UNM Beat
It may be hard core fiscal Conservatives, not die-hard liberals, who will be most displeased with Governor Martinez's first Budget. She hews doggedly to the middle of the road in the $5.4 billion plan, belying campaign pledges of bold change, but avoiding politically perilous confrontations with the Legislature that could sink them both in the popularity polls. The budget reinforces the old adage that in New Mexico the political gold is mainly in the center of the spectrum, even when a Republica...

AM Alert: It's the analyst's turn
Looking for more Budget charts and graphs? You don't have to wait long. Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor is holding a Press Conference this afternoon to present his office's latest report, titled rather succinctly, "Overview of the Governor's Budget." The report will be available on the LAO's website at 11:30 a.m. The Press Conference is set for 1:30 p.m. Just in time: The Budget committees in both the Senate and the Assembly are scheduled to start considering Brown's proposal tomorrow. As colle...

Gov. Jerry Brown begins wooing GOP support for tax plan
Reporting from Sacramento — Before Gov. Jerry Brown can ask voters to ratify the multibillion-dollar tax plan he says will rescue California's finances, he must win over a handful of Republicans with a combination of charm, arm-twisting and Compromise — a task he's already begun. The Democratic Governor needs as few as four GOP votes to place a measure on the ballot that would extend $9 billion in recent tax hikes — levies Republicans have opposed. "I will … go into th...

Gov. Brown offers gimmick-free budget, experts say
(01-12) 04:00 PST Sacramento - -- Gov. Jerry Brown promised Californians that his Budget proposal would avoid gimmicks, and Budget experts who reviewed the plan said Brown has mostly stuck to his word. In tackling the projected $25.4 billion Deficit, Brown has proposed $12.5 billion in cuts and an additional $12 billion in taxes and avoided relying on solutions that have little chance of materializing, the experts said. Such gimmicks used to balance the Budget in the past have merely pushed t...