Housing
Blog
CEQA Show Hearing Gets California Nowhere
The state Senate held a joint informational hearing last month that, on the surface, looked to be a step forward for those who believe the California Environmental Quality Act needs reform, if not a top-to-bottom overhaul. But apparently the hearing was anything but an effort to fix the law that ...
Blog
Is Push to Lower Local Tax Threshold About Funding Vital Projects or Funding Public Pensions?
Yesterday, my colleague Rowena Itchon wrote about Sacramento’s “taxfest” – the various proposals introduced this year to raise taxes on hard-working Californians. That’s only part of the story. A group of lawmakers wants to make it easier to raise local taxes. Thanks to Proposition 13, a two-thirds vote of the ...
Commentary
Failed federal housing policy undermines Trump’s opioid reforms
By Lance Izumi and Michele Steeb Over the past two years, President Trump has promoted bold reforms designed to address the opioid crisis. Congress, in a rare bipartisan effort, wholeheartedly supported Trump’s significant reforms, but these initiatives are being undermined by the failures of federal housing policy. In October 2018, ...
California
California doesn’t have to be like Texas – following Florida’s lead will work
Texas, it’s been said recent years, should inspire California to recapture its lost promise, to polish its fading luster. While the Golden State grapples with a host of Blue State struggles, housing is more affordable in the Lone Star state, taxes are lower, business is welcomed rather than handcuffed, and ...
Blog
Why Buy A Modest Home in California for The Price of a Texas Mansion?
It can cost a half-million dollars more to build the same-size house in California as it does in Texas. The number of adults surprised by this is roughly zero. While California ranked no. 3 in new home construction in 2017, housing supply still lags far behind demand in the most ...
Blog
CAPITAL IDEAS: California’s Plastic Police Always on The Job
DOWNLOAD THE PDF It was inevitable. California lawmakers’ assault on choice continues in 2019. The plastic-bag ban already in effect is not enough to satisfy their appetite for micromanaging others’ lives. After successfully outlawing single-use plastic bags in grocery stores and other large retailers, with the help of voters in ...
California
California Leads the Nation in Bringing Back Medieval Illnesses
Victor Davis Hanson pointed out some years ago that California ignored its premodern problems while dreaming of postmodern marvels such as high-speed rail. There’s no better example of a premodern problem that’s been allowed to take root and thrive than the Medieval diseases now plaguing the state. California Healthline recently ...
Blog
Wasn’t The Fuel Tax Hike Intended To Build Roads, Not Houses?
California cities have a choice: They can comply with the new governor’s effort to increase homebuilding or they can continue to put up with lousy roads. That isn’t exactly the way the new governor’s deal is going to work, but it is a loose if not generally accurate account of ...
Blog
Will Legislature Act This Year to Keep our Kids SAFE? History Says Probably Not
This week on PRI’s “Next Round” podcast, I sit down with Senator Mike Morrell, R-Rancho Cucamonga. Among the topics that we discussed was his legislation to ensure safer schools for all students (Senate Bill 709), also known as the Sexual Abuse-Free Education (SAFE) Act. Right now, there’s a growing problem ...
California
Sen. Mike Morrell – Will the Legislature Finally Act to Break California’s Housing Logjam?
Senate Housing Committee Vice Chair Mike Morrell joins us to discuss all things housing, including the prospects for free-market housing reform legislation this session and his thoughts on Gov. Newsom targeting cities over their failure to meet state housing goals. We also discuss his student safety legislation, other legislative priorities, ...
CEQA Show Hearing Gets California Nowhere
The state Senate held a joint informational hearing last month that, on the surface, looked to be a step forward for those who believe the California Environmental Quality Act needs reform, if not a top-to-bottom overhaul. But apparently the hearing was anything but an effort to fix the law that ...
Is Push to Lower Local Tax Threshold About Funding Vital Projects or Funding Public Pensions?
Yesterday, my colleague Rowena Itchon wrote about Sacramento’s “taxfest” – the various proposals introduced this year to raise taxes on hard-working Californians. That’s only part of the story. A group of lawmakers wants to make it easier to raise local taxes. Thanks to Proposition 13, a two-thirds vote of the ...
Failed federal housing policy undermines Trump’s opioid reforms
By Lance Izumi and Michele Steeb Over the past two years, President Trump has promoted bold reforms designed to address the opioid crisis. Congress, in a rare bipartisan effort, wholeheartedly supported Trump’s significant reforms, but these initiatives are being undermined by the failures of federal housing policy. In October 2018, ...
California doesn’t have to be like Texas – following Florida’s lead will work
Texas, it’s been said recent years, should inspire California to recapture its lost promise, to polish its fading luster. While the Golden State grapples with a host of Blue State struggles, housing is more affordable in the Lone Star state, taxes are lower, business is welcomed rather than handcuffed, and ...
Why Buy A Modest Home in California for The Price of a Texas Mansion?
It can cost a half-million dollars more to build the same-size house in California as it does in Texas. The number of adults surprised by this is roughly zero. While California ranked no. 3 in new home construction in 2017, housing supply still lags far behind demand in the most ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: California’s Plastic Police Always on The Job
DOWNLOAD THE PDF It was inevitable. California lawmakers’ assault on choice continues in 2019. The plastic-bag ban already in effect is not enough to satisfy their appetite for micromanaging others’ lives. After successfully outlawing single-use plastic bags in grocery stores and other large retailers, with the help of voters in ...
California Leads the Nation in Bringing Back Medieval Illnesses
Victor Davis Hanson pointed out some years ago that California ignored its premodern problems while dreaming of postmodern marvels such as high-speed rail. There’s no better example of a premodern problem that’s been allowed to take root and thrive than the Medieval diseases now plaguing the state. California Healthline recently ...
Wasn’t The Fuel Tax Hike Intended To Build Roads, Not Houses?
California cities have a choice: They can comply with the new governor’s effort to increase homebuilding or they can continue to put up with lousy roads. That isn’t exactly the way the new governor’s deal is going to work, but it is a loose if not generally accurate account of ...
Will Legislature Act This Year to Keep our Kids SAFE? History Says Probably Not
This week on PRI’s “Next Round” podcast, I sit down with Senator Mike Morrell, R-Rancho Cucamonga. Among the topics that we discussed was his legislation to ensure safer schools for all students (Senate Bill 709), also known as the Sexual Abuse-Free Education (SAFE) Act. Right now, there’s a growing problem ...
Sen. Mike Morrell – Will the Legislature Finally Act to Break California’s Housing Logjam?
Senate Housing Committee Vice Chair Mike Morrell joins us to discuss all things housing, including the prospects for free-market housing reform legislation this session and his thoughts on Gov. Newsom targeting cities over their failure to meet state housing goals. We also discuss his student safety legislation, other legislative priorities, ...
