Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has just released a detailed policy agenda at an appearance today at Leisure World in Seal Beach.
Among new proposals:
• Make the Legislature part-time. GOP rival Steve Poizner also advocates such a change.
• Provide a $10,000 tax credit for purchasers of new and existing homes.
• Provide tax credit for green tech job creation.
• Supports "an alternative conveyance system" for water supplies.
• Cap state spending in a formula tied to the growth of the state's gross domestic product, locking in spending growth unless the state's economy is growing.
• Reduce the number of state lawyers.
• Institute merit pay raises for state workers.
• Create a kind of grand jury to look for fraud in state government.
• Invest $1 billion in savings that she estimates will result from her proposed welfare and budget reforms in the University of California and California State University systems.
Whitman also estimates the targeted tax cuts she's already proposed as well as the streamlining of business regulations will create 2 million new private-sector jobs, with most of them coming from retail, manufacturing and business services.
Find the 48-page policy book here.
UPDATE: Whitman later explained the nuances of the spending cap idea to reporters after the Seal Beach event. She said the spending cap would be based on a formula calculating inflation plus population growth minus a "productivity index." She explained that such an index would seek the same amount of work performed by state government but at 1 percent less cost each year compounded yearly.
Asked by The Bee whether she would seek a merit pay voter initiative if the Legislature didn't approve the proposal, Whitman said she would be reluctant to frequently resort to initiatives to get around the Legislature.
PHOTO CREDIT: Meg Whitman gives her opening remarks at the California Republican Party's convention in Santa Clara last Friday. Hector Amezcua/hamezcua@sacbee.com
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