I am happy to report my bill (Senate Bill 944) that would make February 6 Ronald Reagan Day was signed this week by Governor Schwarzenegger.

The special day for Reagan will not create a state holiday or cost taxpayers money.

Instead, Reagan Day will be what is called “a day of special significance” just like other days we have including one to celebrate John Muir, California teachers and the California Poppy.

The goal is to celebrate the life of President Reagan throughout California's schools each February 6 beginning next year on his 100th birthday.

When enacted, SB 944 would formally encourage the celebration of the life and legacy of President Reagan throughout California's schools.

It's important for California school children to study a meaningful and well-known political leader like Reagan, whose earlier accomplishments are a model of personal responsibility and an inspiration to young, developing minds.

Those achievements include Reagan's great success in college as an athlete, student and school senator; serving the United States during World War II as an Army Captain; and achieving fame as a broadcaster and movie star.

He did all of this through the strong work ethic, persistence and humility that he developed from his humble beginnings in rural Illinois.

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Taxes Squandered on E-waste and Overpaid Officials

Hard times force people to pay attention to how they spend their money – and how government spends their money. While Democrats are proposing higher taxes, voters are already angry about two more news reports that show their tax dollars being squandered.

California's electronic waste program, a symbol of green innovation, turns out to be a magnet for fraud, reported The Sacramento Bee in this article.

The state government-operated program has been cheated out of tens of millions of dollars, including payments for illegal material smuggled in from out of state. While California rejected $23 million in faulty and fraudulent claims, it probably paid as much as $30 million for other ineligible claims.

And, more than two dozen e-waste firms have been investigated for fraud by the state Department of Toxic Substances Control over the past two years, The Bee reported, but no one has been fined or prosecuted.

Other states avoided California's problems by making industry responsible for its own waste.

Meanwhile, residents of Southern California City of Bell expressed outrage at revelations of outsized city salaries ranging from $100,000 for part-time city council members to almost $800,000 for the chief administrative officer, twice as much as President Obama. According to The Los Angeles Times in this article, the revelations even shocked one council member, who discovered he was receiving about $90,000 less than his colleagues.

During these challenging economic times, when concerns about public employee costs and pensions are frequently in the news, the obvious question is what kind of benefit package will public employees of Bell receive when they leave? With city officials receiving these ridiculous tax payer supported salaries it's no wonder Bell is also ranked the poorest city in Los Angeles County.

Whether it's money squandered on fraudulent claims or overpaid officials, examples like these outrage taxpayers. They demand that government stop wasting their hard-earned dollars. It seems unlikely that they're ready to hand over even more money. Yet, Democrats want to balance the state budget by raising taxes.

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Study shows more money invested in education bureaucrats than teachers and students

A study released yesterday reveals that while California increased spending public schools in a five-year period, it spent less on classrooms.

“More of the funding increase went to administrators, clerks and technical staff and less to teachers, textbooks, materials and teacher aides,” according to this Associated Press article.

This is a slap in the face to teachers, students and taxpayers. But it's not surprising.

Anyone who has dealt with public schools (which is most of us) knows that classrooms have been given the short shrift for years. School districts reward administrators with raises and job security while handing out pink slips to teachers. Furthermore, teachers must regularly dig into their own wallets to fund classroom supplies.

I have said it before and I will say it again: California's public education system isn't under-appropriated; it's misappropriated.