See? He Used to Ride in a Bus...
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is touring the state to raise support for his "no new taxes" budget reform plan. The Oakland Tribune reports that attendees at his Bay Area Town Hall asked about reinstating the Vehicle License Fee as one of his first acts as Governor. Repealing the fee has cost California $6 billion a year, but the Governor showed no signs of rethinking his action.
Schwarzenegger at no time Monday seemed about to win a popularity contest, though the discussion remained civil.
Pepperedwith questions about reinstating the Vehicle License Fee he repealedsoon after taking office in 2003, which would restore about $6 billionper year to state coffers; about ending California's tenure as the onlymajor oil-producing state without an oil extraction tax; aboutreassessing commercial property to bring tax revenues up to date; andabout mulling whether California should remain one of only three statesrequiring a two-thirds Legislative majority to pass budget bills, thegovernor basically said "no," "no," "no" and nothing at all.
Photo: Contra Costa Times