One of the oldest tricks in the liberal book is to couch tax and fee hikes into something “for the children” – and some Republicans fall for it, hook, line and sinker every time. And so it was on Monday with Assembly passage of AB 192.
AB 192 could QUADRUPLE the fee for you to record “a document, instrument, paper, notice, deed, conveyance, map, chart, survey or any other writing other than an originally signed copy of a certificate of marriage.”
And how did Democrats on the Ways & Means Committee sucker six Republicans into voting for it? By specifying that the additional revenue “be used to provide legal services for abused and neglected children,” that’s how.
Now here’s the thing: *IF* “abused and neglected children” really need legal services (are we supposed to believe that abused and neglected children aren’t being taken care of in the courts right now?), isn’t that something that all of us, collectively, should pay for out of our general fund taxes? Why should legal services for abused and neglected children be funded from…recording fees? This is insane. This is nuts. This is dumb and dumber rolled together.
And yet…
Six Republicans in the Assembly fell for it and voted for AB 192. They are: Tom Grady, Scott Hammond, Cresent Hardy, Pat Hickey, Lynn Stewart and Melissa Woodbury.
Good grief.
