In summary

A collection of commentaries by Dan Walters over the past week.

Battles over local tax measures heat up

As Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislators consider state tax increases, local government ballots are being loaded up with tax proposals and the jousting over them is becoming heated.

How budget ‘trailer bills’ are misused

Senate Bill 861 is a prime example of how budget “trailer bills” are misused to bypass the usual legislative process.

DMV crisis could make or break Newsom

While Gov. Gavin Newsom claims a global role in the immigration crisis, how he handles a more prosaic crisis in the Department of Motor Vehicles could have a greater effect on his political career.

Bond issue transparency still under assault

Local officials still don’t like having to tell voters how proposed bond issues will affect their property taxes and may seek relief from the Legislature.

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Dan Walters has been a journalist for more than 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers. He began his professional career in 1960, at age 16, at the Humboldt Times...