Seven Assembly Republicans vote for "Green Taxes"

The Bi-Partisan Socialists in California are using Green Taxes to re-distribute the
wealth to their special and approved friends.

Seven "small government" Assembly Republicans sided with Democrats to tax $400 million out of our wallets


Socialist California Gov. Jerry Brown is sponsoring legislation to extend a state program that collects about $400 million a year from utility customers and invests it in renewable energy and efficiency programs.

Bi-Partisan Socialism is all the rage.  Just color the Big Brother program or tax "Green" and many Republicans just drop their pants and vote yes.

The surcharge, added to monthly electric bills since 1997, is set to expire at the end of the year, and the Legislature has only two weeks to reauthorize the levy.

But because the surcharge is a tax, the bill has to be passed by a two-thirds majority of the Legislature. That would require rare bipartisan approval, yet some Republicans have shown support for the idea of more taxes on the public.

A draft of the bill — which the Brown administration calls the Clean Energy, Jobs and Investment Act of 2011 — was presented at a private meeting late last week in the governor's office with utility executives, legislative staffers, environmentalists and power plant developers, The Times has learned.

The bill to reauthorize it has broad support from the renewable-energy industry, environmentalists and labor unions that would benefit from new construction jobs.

It's opposed by antitax groups and some business groups, such as the California Manufacturers & Technology Assn.


Green Marxism  -  The environment is used
as an excuse to re-distribute wealth to
those with "needs".


"In our view, there's plenty of public-sector funding out there to support these energy-efficiency programs," said David Wolfe, legislative director of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. "You're gouging ratepayers with very little accountability."

The manufacturers trade group said the plan is unneeded and would lead to higher electric rates. And ratepayers' advocates, who support the aims of bill, fear that the surcharge could be grabbed by future lawmakers to fill budget holes.

In a January report, however, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office questioned the value of the research and the ability to quantify the benefits, saying "it is by no means clear that the investment has resulted in a payoff to the state's electricity ratepayers."

A related measure that would extend the surcharge until 2020 passed the Assembly with 58 votes, including those of seven Republicans who broke ranks and sided with the Democrats.

Wolfe, of the Howard Jarvis group, which advocates lower taxes and government spending, said the organization is determined to get those lawmakers to change their minds.

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