Press Releases

“The newly appointed BART Inspector General, Claudette Biemeret, is in the position to do great public good by continuing the tradition of honest and transparent investigations into BART’s finances and practices. To be able to fulfill her duties, she must have the full power to root out waste and abuse. The previous inspector general resigned, in part, due to the refusal of BART to give full access to data and whistleblowers. This must be corrected to give confidence to riders and taxpayers that our massive transit spending is justified.” 

Harriet Richardson has been a stellar example of a public servant who works for the good of the people. The first-ever Inspector General for BART after the post was created in 2018, Harriet carried out her job with professionalism and an objective pursuit of the truth, no matter where it took her. She displayed tenacity and independence with an auditor’s green-eyeshade level of scrutiny, performing admirable work under adverse circumstances.

SACRAMENTO – Lobbyists’ financial disclosure activities in California have gone largely ignored in recent years, thanks to a paucity of required audits on them during the past 10+ years. That will be the subject of an oversight hearing tomorrow, March 7, in the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee.

Senator Steve Glazer, chair of the committee, will review the Franchise Tax Board’s responsibilities for auditing lobbyists and lobbying activities.

SACRAMENTO – Senator Steve Glazer, D-Contra Costa, resigned today from his position as a member of the Senate Select Committee on Bay Area Public Transit, saying Bay Area leaders have failed to support fiscal oversight of BART.

Senator Glazer is a longtime supporter of public transit and is concerned about the financial problems facing Bay Area transit systems, which are essential to the health of the regional economy. But, he said, the status quo is unacceptable.

SACRAMENTO – Consumers would be able to make cancellations with a full refund, at no charge, up to 24 hours after they make a booking with hotels, short-term rentals and third-party booking services under legislation that Senator Steve Glazer introduced Thursday, along with 13 co-authors.

Many lodging services do not offer free cancellation with a refund under any circumstances. Others charge extra fees to cancel or offer no refund.

For Immediate Release:                                                                          Contact: Steven Harmon

November 30, 2022                                                                                        916-651-4007 (office)

                                                                                                                            916-539-5005 (cell)

SACRAMENTO – After the California Franchise Tax Board made clear it plans to tax forgiven federal student loans today, Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Contra Costa) reiterated his plans to introduce urgency legislation on the first day of the new legislative session in December to exempt the forgiven debts from state taxes. 

Current federal law exempts forgiven student loans from federal income taxes. But on Wednesday, the California Franchise Tax Board confirmed that the forgiven loans would be counted as income and taxed in California.