Today's Reason to Take California's Legislature Seriously

Back in the spring, Jerry Brown proposed eliminating a number of state commissions as a way of fixing California's broken budget. One of these was the Commission on the Status of Women, a state agency that advises the Governor and Legislature on women's issues and lobbies on behalf of women's groups in the legislative arena. Earlier this year, the Legislative Analyst's Office recommending abolishing the commission, saying that the $476,000 allocated to it could better advance women's interests by spending it directly on existing programs. Others have argued that private groups are more than capable of handling its lobbying functions. As a result, the commission's funding was reduced by $200,000 in the current state budget. And today provides another indication of how seriously Californians should take the commission: the Legislature has just appointed actress Geena Davis to a post on the commission. That's right: for the first time since she portrayed America's first female president in the short-lived series Commander in Chief, Geena Davis will be drawing a salary paid by California's taxpayers.