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Hi, I'm Assistant Speaker pro Tem Kevin Mullin. It is an honor and privilege to represent
San Mateo County in the State Assembly. Now that the Legislature is back in session, I
wanted to deliver a brief update. This year we will consider well over 2,000 bills, but
the single most significant action we will take is adopting a 2014-15 state budget.
I serve on the Assembly Budget Committee and we have just begun the subcommittee process.
We will hold dozens of hearings before the Constitutional deadline in mid-June to pass
the budget for the coming fiscal year. I'd like to quickly provide you with my initial
thoughts on Governor Brown's recent budget proposal in an effort to open up a channel
of communication with you, so that I can better serve you when making policy decisions here
in Sacramento. Brown's proposal makes great strides in paying
down debt and making strategic investments that will serve to bolster our recovering
economy. However, there are still details to be worked out and areas that can be improved
upon. First, I strongly support the Governor's emphasis
on reducing debt, but one critical area that we need to focus on more directly is the California
State Teachers Retirement System. We're going to need to develop a specific
plan to make sure we can meaningfully reduce the 80 billion dollar unfunded liability over
the next 30 years. The time to start on this is now.
Second, we need to modernize the tax code. A rainy day fund is imperative given our volatile
revenues and I applaud legislative leadership and the Governor's plan to ensure we have
a workable rainy day fund.
However, this is a symptom of an antiquated tax code. Numerous panels and commissions
have come up with various plans to do this, but there has been little follow-through.
Legislators, myself included, need to start moving on some of these proposals.
Third, we need to resuscitate redevelopment. We know about the past abuses in other areas,
but cities in San Mateo County demonstrated redevelopment done right. We must give local
governments strong economic development tools with the proper safeguards.
Fourth, we need to take care of our children and working families. Increasing K-12 funding
and paying down the deferred payments to schools is absolutely the right thing to do, but we
can do more. Legislative leaders are proposing to make
transitional kindergarten universal for all 4 year olds and strengthen existing early
care programs for 0-3 year olds. These expenditures are fiscally prudent because we know from
experience in other states that these programs will increase high school graduation rates
and reduce our prison population down the road. This is a long-term policy step that
will have substantial return on investment for all Californians.
The Governor's proposal is a strong start, and I am eager to start working through the
budget committee process with my colleagues to refine and hopefully improve it. I hope
this is the beginning of a dialogue and I'd like to invite residents of San Mateo County
to email me at assemblymember.mullin@assembly.ca.gov or call my office at 650-349-2200 with suggestions
and feedback as we move forward. You can also contact me via Facebook and Twitter.
Thank you for watching, and thank you for the honor of serving as your representative
in the California State Assembly.