Assemblyman Roger Niello, who cast a key vote to pass a state budget that raised taxes this year, has been replaced as the GOP's point man on the Assembly Budget Committee.
The Fair Oaks Republican will hand his committee post to Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber, who is a freshman in the lower house but served a dozen years in the Senate, leaving in 1990.
The switch was made by the Assembly's new Republican leader, Sam Blakeslee of San Luis Obispo, who has stressed that taxes cannot be raised again in tackling a $24.3 billion shortfall.
"There is no doubt that our party believes that raising taxes in a time of recession, especially after seeing taxes rise just three months earlier, would be a catastrophically bad policy choice," Blakeslee said.
Blakeslee said he has the "highest respect and regard" for Niello but that he was forming a new leadership team and felt Nielsen's experience - he served four years as Senate Republican leader - would be invaluable.
"My sense is that by bringing some new ideas and some new energy to a number of key leadership positions, we're going to have an ability to formulate a new set of solutions," Blakeslee said.
Nielsen and Niello will work together on a joint Assembly-Senate conference committee to seek consensus on easing this year's massive budget gap.
Niello characterized his leaving the Budget Committee's vice chairmanship as a mutual decision made by him and Blakeslee.
"It's happening almost exactly as I would have wanted it to," he said. Niello, in voting for this year's controversial state budget, said compromise was needed to keep the state from imploding financially and to win changes sought by the GOP.
At the time, Niello cited provisions to enhance the state's rainy-day fund, expand public-private construction partnerships, make environmental review changes to "speed infrastructure projects," and give tax credits and tax breaks for business to stimulate the economy and create jobs.
Call Jim Sanders, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5538.
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