Credit – The Boston Globe

Although I don’t usually write about political issues outside of Orange County, I still try to keep track of what is going on around us and report any interesting items to my readers. One of my main sources of information, over the years, stems from my union days when I frequented Sacramento on a regular basis.

Scott Lay is the author of Around the Capitol, a very informative political news service he started several years ago. Scott is the CEO of Community College League of California, a lobbying group for community colleges. A high school dropout, he credits the community college system right here in Orange County for getting him back on track to earn his Bachelor and Law Degree from UC Davis. Since then, he has given back to them through his lobbying efforts. He founded the ATC website more or less as a lark and it sparked into a full service site with more than 4,000 subscribers and a few thousand more non-subscribers who faithfully follow Scott’s witty wisdom as they utilize the site to track legislative bills and the legislature themselves in a way that we can all understand. In other words, he makes sense of the (often) nonsensical world of Sacramento politics.

So today we have a few poll results on statewide measures I thought you would be interested in. These all come from Scott’s site so credit should be given to him for promulgating the information:

POLL POSITION: Today brings a polling hat trick, with the Public Policy Institute of California, LATimes/USC Dornsife, and CBRT/Pepperdine and releasing results. PPIC tested Props 30, 31, 32,
and 38. LAT/USC releases Props 30, 32, 37, and 38 today, and CBRT/Pepperdine tested all eleven in its online poll. LAT//USC will release results for 34 and 36 later this week.

PPIC: n=993 likely, landline/cell, 10/14-10/21/2012, +/- 4.0%
LAT/USC Dornsife/Greenberg:  n=1440 likely, landline/cell, 10/15-10/21/2012 [crosstabs]

Proposition 30: Temporary Taxes to Fund Education. Guaranteed Local Public Safety Funding. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

Public Policy Institute of California
Yes: 48%
No: 44%
Undecided: 8%

LATimes/USC Dornsife
Yes: 45%
No: 42%
Undecided: 12%

Proposition 31: State Budget. State and Local Government. Initiative Constitutional Amendment and Statute.

Public Policy Institute of California
Yes: 24%
No: 48%
Undecided: 28%

Proposition 32:
Prohibits Political Contributions by Payroll Deduction. Prohibitions on
Contributions to Candidates. Initiative Statute.

Public Policy Institute of California
Yes: 39%
No: 53%
Undecided: 7%

LATimes/USC Dornsife
Yes: 40%
No: 46%
Undecided: 13%

Proposition 37: Genetically Engineered Foods. Mandatory Labeling. Initiative Statute.

LATimes/USC Dornsife
Yes: 44%
No: 43%
Undecided: 13%

Proposition 38: Tax for Education and Early Childhood Programs. Initiative Statute.

Public Policy Institute of California
Yes:39%
No: 53%
Undecided: 7%

LATimes/USC Dornsife
Yes: 31%
No: 56%
Undecided: 13%

The LAT/USC/Greenberg poll gives three different results for most ballot measures–one with a quick summary, one after title and summary, and one after “supporter/opponent” arguments. In each case, I reflect the percentages of likely voters after title and summary.

There is a lot more information on Scott’s site. Although I subscribe to his email list and website, it is not necessary to do so to access all of the great features of Around the Capitol (Subscriptions are nominal and cover his costs). In fact, you can get on his mailing list for free and you will get ATC delivered right to your computer each day. He is one of the few non-partisan voices out there willing to give the straight dope on California politics along with a healthy dose of humor. We give Scott and his website a hearty endorsement.