Worker comp petition circulates

Alicia Robinson

Petitions began circulating this week to get a workers compensation

initiative on the November ballot.

After state legislators missed a deadline to offer workers

compensation reform proposals, 70th District Assemblyman John

Campbell said. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told legislators to give

him a proposal by March 1 for “real reform” of workers’ compensation,

which could reduce employers’ premiums by as much as 50%, said

Campbell, who has been working closely with the governor on the

budget and other issues in the last few months.

“That’s sort of the target the governor has in mind,” Campbell

said.

The governor still is meeting with Democratic legislators in hopes

of creating a bipartisan bill on workers compensation, Campbell said.

“I think that if they worked out some kind of a deal tomorrow,

they would just suspend collecting the signatures and go forward,” he

said. “I’m not aware that any deal has been worked out.”

Costa Mesa veteran lobbies for increased benefits

Costa Mesa resident and Vietnam veteran Greg Lee paid a call to

local legislators at work, traveling to Washington, D.C., to meet

with Rep. Chris Cox, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher and other California

representatives to lobby for better treatment for military forces now

in Iraq and increased federal benefits for veterans.

Lee’s trip was on behalf of the Jewish War Veterans of the United

States of America, which he said is the oldest veterans’ group in the

country. He is a local post commander and a vice-commander at the

state level for the organization.

“Our biggest issue, of course, is the care of veterans that are

currently fighting in Iraq and coming back shot up as well as [in]

our other conflicts,” Lee said.

The group also wants to bring more stability to funding for

veterans, which is now set at the whim of congress, he said.

“What we would like to do is ultimately make veterans’ funding an

entitlement as social security is,” he said.

While Lee is hoping for support for his group’s agenda in

Washington, none of the legislators gave him a clear indication of

their positions on those issues, he said.

“They are the most noncommittal people on the entire planet,” he

said. “You walk away thinking that they agree with you ... but you

never know really how they feel until such time as you can check the

voting record.”

Legislators did say they favor increasing spending for veterans,

he said, and they pointed out the fact that the veterans’

administration budget was increased by $500 million this year.

Tax reform advocates name Cox a ‘hero of the taxpayer’

Cox announced Monday that two taxpayer advocacy groups have

recognized him for his votes to protect their interests.

Americans for Tax Reform named Cox a “hero of the taxpayer” for

his 100% record of voting to reduce taxes, and the American

Shareholders Assn. gave him a Friend of the Shareholder award for

promoting pro-growth, pro-investor legislation.

“In both cases, I’m pleased to have outside support for these

battles we fight in Congress,” Cox said.

The next skirmishes will be to prevent impending tax increases,

Cox said. Legislation renewing a ban on Internet use taxes has been

stalled in the Senate, and several tax increases are scheduled to

take effect -- some as soon as the end of the year -- unless they are

prevented by new legislation, he said.

“We’re trying to make sure that we extend the status quo,” he

said.