Open Voter Registration. At the time they register, all voters shall have the freedom to choose whether or not to disclose their party preference. No voter shall be denied the right to vote for the candidate of his or her choice in either a primary or a general election for statewide constitutional office, the State Legislature, or the Congress of the United States based upon his or her disclosure or nondisclosure of party preference.

This measure would permit a voter, at the time of registration, to choose whether or not to disclose a party preference. This measure would also provide that a voter may vote for the candidate of his or her choosing in the primary election, regardless of his or her disclosure or non-disclosure of party preference.

This bill would call a statewide special election to be held on June 10, 2010.

Thirty California counties were mad as hell last week, and vowed that they wouldn't take it anymore.

After California legislators were unable to come together last weekend to fix the epic failure that is our budget crisis, no definitive deal was struck until Thursday. But before that, threats were made.

With a likelihood of a $47 million decrease in funding and $340 million in deferred payments from the state, California's 110 community colleges have not escaped the doom-and-gloom of budget cuts.

There is a great movie in which a person decides that he wants to bring down a huge and prosperous company. The best way to do so, he decides, is to do so from the inside, intentionally running things so slap-dash and inefficiently, as to force the company into a tailspin. As things go down, down, down, some of the top members head for the hills. As their last resort, all of the fellow employees turn to their CEO, who was less of a micromanager than a laissez-faire type of guy everyone likes.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will hold a press conference to discuss the passage of the historic budget package that solves California’s $42 billion deficit.

Watch the live webcast at 12:00 p.m.

Thegreatest irony in the deal Sen. Abel Maldonado struck in exchange for a"yes" vote on the state budget: If thenonpartisan primary that's headed for the June 2010 ballot is approved, itwould greatly decrease the chances of Californiaever again going through months of legislative waterboarding.

The California Legislature passed a Top Two Open Primary Consitutional Amendment this morning to be placed before the voters in 2010. This is a truly unexpected turn of events. Senator Abel Maldonado made the action a part of three reform demands before he would consider voting on California's complex budget solution.

Legislators who want to be true leaders should follow the example of Sen.Abel Maldonado and not only refuse pay raises any time the state's ina deficit, but also agree to cut their pay immediately.

Of allthe demands from all the Republicans in all the California Legislature, this onesounds so imminently sensible that it should happen even if it doesn't make itinto the final budget legislation, assuming the state some day reaches thatpoint.