Happy New Year to all of you and welcome to 2015! Besides enjoying the holiday season with family and friends, I hope you all took some time to recharge your batteries. The new year brings new challenges and new opportunities, so we need to start the new year running!
The 2016 election will be here before we know it. We need to build on our 2014 successes, stay on message, stay positive and keep our enthusiasm going! We need to increase our Republican voter registration numbers in 2015 so we can be prepared for the 2016 election, and voter registration is one of the things we do best! We have to continue to educate our members so they can get out into the communities and help educate the voters. Most of the media is not Republican friendly so it is up to us to get our Republican message out. We also need to build relationships with the voters. Don’t forget the importance of community involvement/Caring for America! Voters are more willing to listen to someone they know or have worked with than a complete stranger knocking on their door.
We can also play a big roll in helping to build a Republican farm team in California. We have so many outstanding members and we need to not just encourage more of our members to run, but also help train more of our members to run for local office. We have been losing members over the past few years so our #1 priority for 2015 is growing our clubs and we can do that by engaging Republican women from different backgrounds, ages, ethnicity. Women that we come in contact with every day. Women will not come to us; it takes hard work to build and keep CFRW a strong organization, but it is worth taking the time. Just imagine, What if there wasn’t a Federation? Who would help our candidates win and who would get our Republican message out to our communities? We want to be sure NFRW will continue for at least another 77 years.
We are beginning the new year with an exciting CFRW Winter Board of Directors Meeting & Conference, Taking Back America , January 30 & 31 in Modesto. This is the perfect opportunity to get informed, empowered and emboldened for the work that lies ahead for 2015. We will be hearing from the candidates who are running for CRP office and our Board of Directors will vote on who they would like CFRW to endorse. You don’t want to miss this opportunity to have a say in who will lead the CRP in 2015/2016.
We are excited to announce some additions for our Winter Conference. We are thrilled that Jon Coupal, President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association will be speaking to us on Saturday afternoon, January 31st. He will talk to us about new taxes for California and what we need to be aware of... the good, the bad, and the ugly of tax policy. Also,our CFRW Advocate, Allison Olson will be updating us on what to expect from the Capitol in 2015 and how new laws that came into effect affect you! Remember to John Sullivan, one of the producers of Dinesh D’Souza’s America, will be bringing DVD’s of America to sell and sign!
Please be sure to send in your registrations ASAP and make your hotel reservation today. CLICK HERE for all the forms you need to join us! You don’t want to miss our exciting Winter CFRW Board of Directors Meeting/Conference to get prepared for 2015 and have a say in who will lead the CRP for the next 2 years. You have the opportunity to have our voices heard!
We are so inspired by all the support we have received from our clubs and members for our CFRW All Terrain Track Chair Project. We have the funds we need for our first track chair and we are also have two thirds of the amount needed for a second Chair. We thank you so much for your continued support for our veterans.
See you all in Modesto as we start to Take Back America!
God Bless America!
Thank you for all you do,
Roseann
Working together To Make A Difference
New Year, New Laws
As per usual with the new year, new laws come into effect. Here are a handful of new laws and how they affect you.
- Illegal Immigrant Driver's Licenses: Although this bill was signed in 2013, it went into effect the first Friday of this year. 970 illegal immigrants were issued driver's licenses on the first day of enforcement. But there are already problems with this new law. The passage rate for illegal immigrants taking the written exam of the driver's test is about 30-35%, even when taken in Spanish. Be on the lookout for additional bills this session that will surely address the "discrimination" or "disenfranchisement" of the new law.
- Higher Egg Prices: Thanks to a 2008 proposition and 2010 assembly bill, egg purchased and sold in California must have been laid from chickens with enough room to stand, move, and "spread their wings." This new law has national implications, since farmers out of state must comply in order to sell eggs in California. Higher egg prices are already hitting the shelves.
- High School Football Practice: What should come as no surprise in this increasing "nanny state," the state is now mandating that high schools limit full contact football practice to only twice a week. Although this law might not directly affect you, the larger implications of the state issuing mandates to high school football practices should scare you. What's next?
- Initiative Changes: Senator Darrell Steinberg's parting legacy was to drastically change the citizen's ballot initiative process. Now, the process includes "extending the window to collect signatures, allows initiative proponents to withdraw measures, mandates a public review during which proponents can submit amendments, and requires the Legislature to hold hearings on ballot measures." This makes it more difficult for citizens to get a measure on the ballot, but the process by which the legislature or the Governor can place an initiative on the ballot remains the same... simple.
Per Diem Day
With the first three day weekend of the year, lawmakers will be in session this morning to collect their per Diem. According to our state Constitution, our legislators receive a daily, tax-free per Diem on top of their salaries as long as their are not out of session for more than three days in a row. Usually session runs from Monday-Thursday, but on three day weekends, legislators gather Friday mornings for a "check in" session to call roll, dismiss, and collect their per Diem of $168 a day. As always, our lawmakers have the best interest of all Californians at heart.
Brown's Budget
Governor Brown has unveiled his budget proposal for 2015-2016 with little surprise or fanfare. But don't worry, there will be much ping-ponging of budget plans between now and the budget deadline, June 1st. Brown's $164.7 billion budget includes paying down long term debt, increasing budget reserves, and was hailed as "prudent" by the non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office. But be sure that Democrats will be asking Brown for more spending on social programs and higher education. Asking Brown to get more specific on unfunded pension liabilities has yielded little results. All the Governor has promised is "bargaining with employee groups," but not much else. Thanks to Prop 2, hopefully a robust Rainy Day Fund will arise from potential budget reserves, but again, be vigilant of greedy Democrat spending! More on Governor Brown's budget as the legislature tackles it. Stay tuned!
Join Us!
As many of you know, the California Federation of Republican Women are on Facebook and Twitter! We want you to "Like" and "Follow" us, and invite your friends! Facebook and Twitter are easy ways to stay connected and informed about what is going on in Sacramento and D.C.! You can find us at ◼ >www.facebook.com/theCFRW and ◼ www.twitter.com/CFRWadvocate!
