The ultra-conservatives' anti-labor campaign has come to California. The Special Exemptions Act unfairly takes away the ability of everyday heroes to speak out on issues that matter to us all, while creating special exemptions for billionaire businessmen and corporate special interests who will continue to spend what they want to influence elections.

Want to fight back?

Sign up for one of five speakers bureau trainings across the state to arm yourself with the facts and help “Stop the Special Exemptions Act.”

Click here to find a speaker’s training near you and RSVP today.

California is a battleground state this year. We are already seeing the impact of corporate special interest-funded Super PACs around the nation. If the Special Exemptions Act passes, secretive Super PACs will become the law of the land in California, with no accountability, checks or balances.

We need your help to beat them back.

Please sign up for one of five “Stop the Special Exemptions Act” speaker’s trainings throughout the state and learn more about how the act unfairly singles out and limits the voices of local teachers, nurses and firefighters who keep our families safe.

Thank you,

The CDP Team

In this MegaVote for California's 1st Congressional District:

California, as well as the nation, is in the midst of one of the worst economic crises since the Great Depression. As unemployment rises above 11 percent within the State, more and more homeowners are having difficulty making their mortgage payments. That difficulty is compounded by certain mortgage products that, based on their design, result in a substantial increase in payment after several years. As a result of those and other factors, many homeowners now face payments beyond the level of what they can afford.

The above issues are compounded by a significant decline in property values, which has left many California homeowners owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. Regardless of the initial cause of the default on a loan, the resulting foreclosure has significant impacts upon the surrounding home values, community, and for those with a financial interest in the loan itself. In February 2012 a historic $18 billion multistate settlement was secured for Californians by Attorney General Kamala Harris that will provide substantial relief for California homeowners.

Seeking to ensure protections for the hundreds-of thousands of Californians still in the foreclosure process, the California State Legislature's leadership convened a bipartisan conference committee to create permanent and locally enforceable actions that will protect homeowners and hold banks accountable to their California commitments.

The Legislative Conference Committee on the California Foreclosure Crisis, co-chaired by Senator Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) and Assemblyman Mike Eng (D-Monterey Park) will review and propose a comprehensive legislative solution, including the Homeowners Bill of Rights package, to protect homeowners in the mortgage market and help to keep credit-worthy families in their homes and revive the state's economy.

Senator Evans and Assemblymember Eng will host a live electronic town hall on the California foreclosure crisis Wednesday, May 16th from 6:30-7:30p.m. You can submit questions for the hosts prior or during the town hall at http://sd02.senate.ca.gov/townhall.

For more information call (916)651-4002. Click here to submit questions.

1st Assembly District leads state with 85,741 homes in rural State Responsibility Areas

SACRAMENTO – A bill by Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D – North Coast) to make fire protection fees assessed to property owners in State Responsibility Areas (SRAs) more equitable, while ensuring continued funding for local fire departments and CalFire, has been approved by the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

“Many property owners in SRAs have already agreed to assess themselves for fire protection and prevention services, which are provided by their local fire agencies,” Chesbro said. “Imposing a $150 state fee on top of this means they pay double or triple for fire protection and prevention services without any additional benefit. It’s unfair to these property owners and it threatens the financial security of local rural fire departments, which in most cases are the first responders to a structure fire in rural areas.”

Under Chesbro’s legislation, AB 2474, property owners who live in SRAs and already pay an assessment to a local fire agency would be able to deduct that amount from the state SRA fee. As a result, those who pay a local assessment of $150 or more would be exempt from paying the state fee.

AB 2474 would also require CalFire to develop a fee based on fire history and severity of past fires to ensure the fee is equitable for the fire protection and prevention services received.

“It’s unfair to charge someone who lives in a log cabin on the foggy, rainy North Coast the same fee as someone who owns a multimillion dollar mansion in the tinder dry hills of Southern California,” Chesbro said.

AB 2474 would also require the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, which oversees CalFire, to report to the Legislature on the cost of responding to all fire disasters and emergencies in the state. This would include a breakdown of the cost of fire prevention, including urban vs. rural, taking into account the square footage of a structure, in addition to the cost of responding to other natural disasters, including earthquakes.

The First Assembly District – comprised of Humboldt, Del Norte, Trinity, Mendocino and Lake counties and a portion of Sonoma County – has 85,741 homes in State Responsibility Areas, more than any other Assembly district in the state.

“I have worked hard to craft legislation to find a solution to the inequitable fee imposed by the state budget,” Chesbro said. “I have personally met with many stakeholders on this issue, including rural fire chiefs from the First Assembly District, constituents who own property in SRAs, representatives from CalFire and members of the Board of Forestry. This bill is a just compromise that minimizes the burden on rural property owners yet provides a funding source for CalFire that doesn’t threaten funding for local fire districts.”

Last month, Chesbro voted to move an Assembly bill by Riverside County Republican Kevin Jeffries that would eliminate the SRA assessment altogether.

“As I stated then, I only voted for Mr. Jeffries’ bill because I believe the SRA fee is so unfair,” Chesbro said.  “I also stated that given the budget situation, and especially now that the May revise will show that revenues are down, Mr. Jeffries’ proposal has no chance of succeeding. The approach in my bill promotes fairness and equity in how the fee is implemented.”

SACRAMENTO — The Assembly Revenue & Taxation Committee today gave unanimous, bipartisan support to legislation authored by Assemblymembers Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) and Wesley Chesbro (D-North Coast) that offers several creative funding opportunities to help prevent state parks from being closed.

Assembly Bill 1589, also known as the California State Parks Stewardship Act of 2012, addresses short and long-term needs for California State Parks in order to achieve substantial budget savings without wide-scale park closures. The bill includes an option for taxpayers to designate all or a portion of their state income tax refund towards purchase of an annual state parks pass.

“Today, our bipartisan effort to save state parks took an important step forward,” said Huffman.  “It’s important that as we continue to make technical improvements to the bill, we are getting unanimous votes in committee, and members of both parties continue asking to be added as co-authors.  I’m also grateful that State Controller John Chiang registered his support and is working with us to make sure key revenue elements of the bill are administratively feasible.”

“The parks closures disproportionately impact rural California, and nowhere is that more true than on the North Coast,” said Chesbro, who represents the First Assembly District. “One of the key elements I wanted included in AB 1589 is the opportunity for Californians to purchase an annual parks pass with their tax refunds. This tool will increase revenue for the parks system with no impact to the general fund and more California families will get out and enjoy our state parks.”

AB 1589 includes the following additional provisions:

1) Encourages formation of a state compact that guarantees an ongoing level of state funding for operations and maintenance of state parks.

2) Creates a State Park Enterprise Fund to be used for construction and installation of modern revenue and fee collection equipment and technologies to increase park visitation and revenues.

3) Produces a California State Park environmental license plate which individual vehicle owners could purchase and have the fees go towards support of state parks.

4) Requires the Department of Parks and Recreation to be more transparent on how it evaluates and selects specific parks for closure, and places a cap of 25 state park units on the number of park closures allowed from 2012 to 2016 without legislative approval.

AB 1589 is also joint-authored by Assemblymembers Roger Dickinson, Mike Gatto and Kevin Jeffries. The bill proceeds to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for further consideration.

In this MegaVote for California's 1st Congressional District: