we all know how dismal the public thinks of the legislature, their approval ratings. this time they took that out. only moving forward. >> so who's behind this? >> so, as i mentioned these two groups in l.a. put it on the ballot. there is both business and labor support. i think a lot of the folks pushing it are the good government type groups which do tend to be on the less side of things. i think that's what's interesting is that it's not -- the democratic party certainly has supported this, but i don't think this is their baby, so to speak. opponents might disagree with that. and there isn't really a ton of organized opposition. >> belva: who are the people? i mean, do we know? is it business interests? lobbyists? that's business interests. >> well, as i mentioned, the l.a. chamber was a big supporter early on. and the money we've seen flow in has been largely from the sort of good government type groups but also from folk who is have been in front of the legislature. so it's all politics. even if it's sponsored by people outside of the political spectrum. >> belva

and they don't even know where the back and is much less how things work and the legislature. >>> said the sec to help the leadership of these two houses said they can speaker would serve for eight or 10 years rather than constantly rotating is that the idea? >>> hopefully someone to have seniority before the elected to be speaker. >>> of the pick prices closing up with lobbyists with to the slot. had you think it would affect those types of relationships. >>> we think currently there is just an amazing amount of lobbying and expertise because the legislatures have attempted to develop any expertise the lobbyists have more say. the fifth time to develop some expertise we think that they will actually be able to win what lobbyists can say and fight back. >>> but the lobbyist also come with campaign contributions and we looked of this experience to an experienced lawmakers and the taken from all sides in a matter what. and as far as politicians go it's because the minute they're elected to one office out care how long it at the looking for the next office. so what is the genesis behind t

but we also can look at some of the things that the republicans in this legislature have done to reduce revenues. they cut our cigarette tax when it was already the lowest in the northeast just to give you an example and then cut our university system budget by 50%. >> that's the largest cut to a public university system in the history of our country. sol some of the things we can do is, for instance restore the cigarette tax to where it used to be. they cut the number of auditors in our department of revenue so all of the sudden the revenue from audited tax returns has dropped precipitously. part of what we need to do is simply to restore some of the things that these folks have done in a very extreme and ideological fashion. and then we do what we always do in new hampshire. we sit down and we talk about priorities and we really focus on what it is we need to do and how we are going to fund them. we will have that discussion and discuss our priorities. and meanwhile, above all of this, we need to make sure that we move the state forward and create the best work force in the country be

, state legislature to get the kind of incentives you want. local municipalities don't have the tools to provide the incentives. there are a lot of things they can do, permit, but they can't reduce the property tax on their owns. you can't reduce benefits unless you have a 2/3 vote of the people in the area. i think you need to go to the legislature. i would be remiss to say we keep thinking 22 years ago. we still haven't repaired the bridge yet. the bridge will be ready hopefully next year. so 22, 23 years later. >> i would just like to say it is extremely difficult to get people engaged in advance to do the things that need to be done and then there's a lot of people, as you mentioned, that will be visits or what not -- visiting or what not that would have no clue. so i think probably as a strategy maybe the next level of the certain nert training is to actually think about ways of postdisaster immediate communication and engagement with people so they can be brought up to speed about the fact that this structure does exist and there is a se

and what he points out is that the state legislatures are running wild. and he focuses on the multiplicity, the mutability and the injustice of state laws. there were more state laws passed since the american revolution in 1776 he says than in the entire colonial period. it was an extraordinary proliferation of statutes. first of all, you had annual elections of the legislatures which was new outside of new england. you had in some cases 60% turnover, these annual elections. so every new set of politicians comes in they want their own set of laws. you have the multiplicity, immunability, meaning laws are crazy, nobody knows what the law is. the judges are going crazy because the laws are being changed so rapidly and then they're unjust. and what madison meant by that was they were hurting creditors. inflation, the printing of paper money. he wants to solve this problem. but how do you do it? how do you limit a majority without doing violence to the basic principle of democracy or republicanism as he used it? and that is a major problem. that i think is wh

there can be problems in the legislature, problems with the president. some of you have mentioned watergate, for example, but when the courts lose their essential function, when is they become corrupted, you cannot have a democracy. >> okay. very good. linda? >> just to build on that and you're talking to somebody who long ago in my reporting career i was once late for an interview with the mayor of baltimore and i consumed an entire bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich in the elevator on the way to his office and the office was on the second floor. it was not a pretty sighting. >> wow. elevator speech, heimlich maneuver if necessary. >> so independence i think is really the key to making work the principles that jeff and share lynn just enunciated, and i'm going to quote, there's a lot of very good little essays in this booklet, but one of my favorite and it was my favorite before i saw it here is from justice breyer who talks about judicial independence. this is on page 12. and he says, ultimately, independence is a matter of custom, habit, and institutio

this might not be the last time we see this legislature, brian. democratic leaders left the doo open to deal with campbelling this -- gambling this summer.t. >>> a howard university hospitau workni certificate fightinger charges of says patient'ss ofpersonal details. indictments say this she sold patient names and socials ansecurity numbers.se if convicted she faces ten year in prison. the hospital says it regrets the incident. >>> the apparents and friends od -- parents and friends of ex- ex-gay's groups is suing.is the group known at p fox sentx flyers home claiming that people can choose to be heterosexual standpoint of gay. they claim the superintendent called the message reprehensible and dee brotherly.an the district said they had no choice but to he put out the flyers.ye >>> the government key witnesser in the trial of roger clemens said he has lied before about facts and his memory has evolves korver night .er brian mcnamee testified he has been mistaken about some thingse paul wagner has more. >> reporter: mcnamee spent aboum two cnhours

civil unions have majority support in the legislature. the republican house speaker took matters into his own hand to block it from coming up for a vote, there by killing it last night. even as public opinion and republican public opinion changes in the united states to become more friendly toward gay rights, republican policy is still really anti-gay. colorado republicans position, which is also mitt romney's position, which is not only should there be no marriage rights for gay people but no civil unions either, that's a position now only held by 33% of the public. republicans in office do not seem to care. the has been their agenda for ever and they are sticking to it. there's a trend worth watching. republican official who is are speaking to the whole country are still technically espousing all of the same anti-gay position positions. the positions are staying the same but they are talking about themselves as if they don't hold the positions. this is sometimes called lying. right now, for example, in the case of governor ultrasound, i

tom mcclintock now says they've harmed the legislature. and an l.a. supervisor who wrote the term limits law says if he had to do it over again, woe have made the terms longer rather than having them bounce from one house to another. >> just ahead challenges facing women in the bay area. >> there is a tip to help build your wealth. >>> building a nest egg in the bay area can be a challenge. >> but women can often face unique financial challenges. there is a new resource to help. >> it's a web site called daily worth. each day sending out bite-sized amount of information to assist women in building financial independence. >> i love to do this all day. >> sarah just graduated with a masters degree from california college of the arts. supporting herself as an artist straight out l school, earning enough to bay pai bills as been difficult. >> it's been challenging. and the job market has been tough. >> amanda steinberg throws out this challenge to other women. >> what i think is important for women is not only be interested in saving money and frugal ti b

. >> our legislature and the people of our state believe that if you commit these type of crimes, there are only two punishments that are fitting, and that is either the death penalty or life in prison without parole so his protection is he's not going to get the death penalty, but he's going to be put away for the rest of his life. >> the supreme court is now expected to use the miller case to determine whether states are required to consider giving juveniles a second chance, no matter what they did. and each side is giving up a little in this case. alabama is not arguing that all juvenile murderers should be ineligible for parole, only those who commit the worst crimes, crimes that would bring a death sentence if the defendant were an adult. evan miller is represented by the equal justice initiative and its founder and executive director, bryan stevenson, and stevenson isn't asking anyone actually be given parole, only that when offenders are so young that at some point far down the road, they at least be allowed to demonstrate they are entitled to be set free. >> i think everyone is

they get in the way of the legislature or the executive branch doing what it want to do. it becomes very much a political issue as to be adequate funding of the courts. there should not be that tension that exists for the courts doing the right thing. there should be an opportunity in some states, and we will look at this next year in our commission resolution, one state as a citizens' committee that looks at the necessary funding for the state judiciary. then, there is a determined number based on empirical evidence. then, unless the governor and the legislature a firm affiliated affirmatively veto that, it becomes the number for the justice system in the state. i would like to see a way of disconnecting the two so that the justice system is absolutely funding and we provide access for citizens. >> the next question is rather different. how has the war on terror affected the american justice system in the past or up until now? what do you foresee in the future? >> the aba has spoken out about that issue on a number of occasions. it is important to preserve the bill of ri

todd came down and testified to the texas legislature in this last session. and let me tell you, we had 108 arizona-style bills proposed in the texas legislature that is two-thirds republican dominated. two-thirds republican, republican governor, 108 arizona-style bills, or you ka call them russ sell pearce bills were up. with todd's help we motivated the legislature to listen and think and enter meaningful dialogue, we brought in businessmen and todd, of course, displayed arizona as a test tube and showed us why the laws don't work. and so in texas, we are very -- we have a great deal of -- we give the credit, i'll tell you to todd landfried and the state of arizona, god bless you todd for coming, i feel like you helped texas dodge the bullet. todd landfried. >> thanks, norm. i guess have to give you another $5 now, right? good morning, on behalf of arizona employer force immigration reform i want to welcome to you today's congressional immigration solutions conference. this is the sixth in a series of conferences that are intend to educate the public about

anywhere in the united states any state legislature a federal legislature that corporations have rights as people under the constitution and the money is not property it's speech this doctrine was invented by the supreme court shoved down our throats and it has corrupted both political parties and our entire government shouldn't we be taking them on. i think that you missed the corruption by maybe several decades or or even a century green course started this in one thousand nine hundred six with the santa clara county vs southern pacific railroad decision. i somehow doubt that you would talk to the citizens now if that's that's the pinnacle of we're talking. but here's the thing i don't think we have to worry about who is funding the sound stage or the tea party rally or who. those are the trappings the real issue is that we keep electing people go office whether it's the democrats who came in to the congress in two thousand and six and then immediately set records for the lowest approval rating when the republicans who took over the congress in two thousand and ten and are now setting

i had to call a special session to bring the legislature back to discuss it. of our committees, our whole process allows us, almost demands for us, to be able to have an open debate and then let our elected leaders vote. >> do you think it will pass now that you have called them back in? do you thing that civil unions will be passed and approved in the colorado legislature? is it going to happen? >> i don't know. it depends on frank, speaker mcnulty. frank and i agree on tremendous -- 90% of the stuff, but on this issue he has the power to choose and he said he's going to start with a blank slate and pick new committees. that doesn't bode well. but i hope as he wrestles with this issue himself and recognizes that we're not talking about marriage. we're talking about civil unions and just making sure that people have the same rights. everyone has the same rights. we're not talking about marriage. >> some of the critics say that civil unions is the step right before gay marriage. do you agree with that? >> well, in colorado we have, as you pointed out at the top

the legislature meets tomorrow and governor hickenlooper meets with us this morning. thank you so much for being here. do you think that the president's public position saying he personally favors gay marriage will hurt or help him in colorado this fall? it went for him pretty big, about nine points, four years ago. >> i think what the president's personal opinion is and how he's wrestled with this is just another example of who he is and the strength of his character. here is a guy who saved us from going into a depression who is able to bring down our worst enemy with some difficult decisions to really save the detroit auto industry. he takes -- he's done so much already, and yet he's still wrestling with personal decisions. but i don't think that's going to affect -- have much effect in colorado. we're really focused on civil unions. >> and does it help you, do you feel that you are evolving or struggling with the issue? how does the president's announcement change anything in your sort of personal outlook toward this issue? >> well, you know, in colorado, we've be

the legislature will do identically the same thing.se things which directly affect the lives of people, they will soften the blow. there has to be a blow, though. >> we can borrow in the past, governor schwarzenegger was able to get through his years by borrowing and spending but we can't do that anymore. we are running out of those tricks. we made real cuts last year but now it has grown even more and we are in a very difficult squeeze and despite the facebook effect on all the good news that might be promoted in the next few months, the economy is starting to come back a little bit but we are in a cash crisis and we will need to make tough decisions. we always cry wolf but in this case i think these cuts are very real and significant. >> jerry brown's tax initiative, odds of passing? >> 50-50 >> 48-52. i want to upset the governor anymore than i already have. >> spoken like a true politicians. >> it will be a very iffy week in sacramento because they need to have those cuts that would go into effect if they don't pass, they need to b

contributions spend so much money on marketing and lobbying we have not been successful in the legislatures even though this cause to have genetically engineered foods labeled house and support out of of nine out of ten americans and yet you know it could be one hundred percent it doesn't seem like we're getting anywhere with the legislature is we're not getting anywhere with the presidential administration so we're taking our cause to the voters and we think with nine out of ten support at the polls we should be able to win the you know there are other countries where it is not just legal to label g.m.o. foods but illegal not to operate i mean almost of the industrialized world. just about how we're all here and europe everywhere you know why and what's their experience been well i think consumers now in europe and other parts of the world where to that if the engineered foods are labeled consumers actually know what they're eating they ask questions about what the health the facts could be and their government actually have to investigate and regulate genetically engineered foods i spoke

it's again legislature trying to come to grips and shape big debates and he was looking at trying to constrain the president's ability to wage war abroad. this was about in the big background about slavery. >> and on that particular subject you have written some on the ability of congress to -- the authority of congress to wage war. what is the law now in terms of -- what is congress' role in declaring a war? >> congress hasn't formally declared war since world war ii and since world war ii there have been sorts of understainci where the presidents have sent units abroad. and there are other classes where congress authorizes the use of military force. but often authorizes it and really in broad ways. so this has led a number of scholars to conclude that congress has altogether abdicated the war making as unbound. that's overstating the matters quite considerably and it ignores a lot of the interesting politics that occur across the various branches of government about war. but it's the -- it's a striking feature of the modern era. that congress is not out in front defining military p

many slave owners were also governors, members of the state legislature in the u.s. senate, and some of them actually became president of the united states assa

the california legislature is at a stand still. so, brown took his pitch to the voters. >> we can't fill a hole of this magnitude with cuts alone without doing severe damage to our schools. i'm bypassing the gridlock and asking you, the people of california, to approve a plan that avoids cuts to schools and public safety. >> what the governor of california wants to do is raise the state sales tax by a quarter of a percent for four years. he wants 1 to 3% increase on income tax for those earning $250,000 a year. the rate increase would last seven years. then it would sunset. without the tax revenue, the school year will be cut by three weeks. college tuition rates would go up 6% and funding for courts, that would be cut. there are also unspecified cuts to social welfare programs. republicans in washington have run huge deficits on the unpaid wars, iraq and afghanistan that were off budget, the tax cuts to the bush years. nobody added up on how that would affect the treasury and the hand outs in the pharmaceutical industry. there's n

>> america was violent, legislatures tended to be violent. but congress in this period is involved in all these sort of major shaping issues and part of what's going on with the violence is westerners tend to be aggressaggressors, so partic over time, you're talking about slavery and you want to shut somebody up, it's really effective to reach for your knife. >> and this is part of the context you brought this up in a discussion today on congress and politics in general. did you find people sort of surprised at the level of violence of emotion that was going on in congress? we don't see that in congress now. we do see emotion. >> that's true. i do think generally speaking, our image of congress in this period is clay, calhoun and webster sort of making great words. they're not surprised there's some violence. there's 119 incidents. and particularly given a lot in the house and senate chambers. just doesn't tend to be put in congressional records. they didn't know it was there to look for. >> what was the biggist take away from this discussion

why some animal activists want the legislature to bring in the legislature to bring in >> we saw the sun momentarily today. >> it was a cameo. >> we will not see a lot of it tonight, but we may see more of it tomorrow. sprinkle or shot or on thursday and then a beautiful friday and saturday with highs around 70 -- a sprinkle or shower on thursday. >> a man worked wbal-tv 45 years. >> he started as a film editor but became belonged is acting floor director in wbal history. >> this is the guy behind the camera. you are so amazing. as you always like to say, can i go home now? the answer is no. the answer is no.

but they trade off, it's very hard for legislatures to act quickly. they may make less mistakes, right? the more people who participate in a decision, the less likely they're going to make an error. .. >> so to me i actually agree with sandy. i don't think czars are constitutionally problematic. i think as a matter of administration, it might be a bad the as policy but i think it's because presidents have taken on themselves to try to get so involved with the legislature, so involved with the laws that they need more and more people to access them by don't think it raises any great constitutional difficulty. libya, however, i think is a demonstration in the last few years about presidents actually have been trying to bind themselves to reduce the kind of the vigorous constitutional presidency that should offer a national security in foreign affairs. for example, what struck me about libby is the claim that libya was not at war which i think what a surprise mr. david sims we're trying to kill him during the conflict. but also that we delayed our interv

in terms of process, we are not likely to see much action by the legislature. the visit because the number of -- that is because of the number of primaries. a lot of things that are likely 0 make a political context less bright for serious discussions of the education budget, so even though the state has a budget of june 15, 5 is likely to have been a window hear a good -- a window. goothought was a fairly delicate process last year, too. let me leave it at that, and i know one commissioner has of western. >> thank you for the information curio of -- for the information. it was really helpful to go back to your graph, and at the top line, it is funded, and 180 days of instruction, but we are actually looking at $5,242, which is more like a seven-month school year. thanks to the support, local measures were able to somehow get nine months out of the school year, but if the revenue measures fail and we ship the low point of $4,872, we are really looking at a six and a half months later, and as the superintendent said, now is the time to get mad. if we cannot educ

how is it you can have 25 or 26 legislatures who have gone through the past two years doing this and the democratic party didn't know anything about it? i mean, we're pulling up the rear. and now we've got to figure out how we are going to get ms. jones, who is 80 years old, to the polls because she doesn't have any i.d. i mean, so we're doing this work. so now institutionally, the church, you are so generous to us. you let us come and you speak in your churches. and we get up and we say all the good things. don't nobody ask us any questions. we don't have to answer anybody. we just tell people all this good stuff we've been doing. all right? and we get away with it. stop letting us do that. stop letting us do that. as a matter of fact, i want you to have your social justice committee or whatever you have in the church. i want you to know my voting record when i get there. and i want you to go down that list and you say, well, now you voted, you know, this way on this. you voted for payday loans. they take 400% interest from our people in our community. why did you vote for them? and