Like Americans around the world, I will never forget the horrific images of a plane smashing into the second tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

This was no accident, I thought to myself as I sat glued to the TV that day.  America was under attack and would be forever changed.

Ten years later, Americans nationwide will gather and pay tribute to the nearly 3,000 victims that were murdered in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  Of these victims, 403 were New York City firefighters and police officers.  We will also pay tribute to the brave military personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice in ensuring that those responsible for the attacks would be brought to justice and that similar attacks would never happen again.

This year is especially poignant for us because of the killing of the mastermind of those attacks, Osama bin Laden.  His demise marked a substantial victory against those that want to destroy Western Civilization values.  But we know his death is not the end of terrorism or even the beginning of the end.

Our world is much different today than it was on September 11, 2001.  We can feel it at the airport standing in security lines.  We can hear it on the radio, where the latest bombing in the Middle East or Europe seems to get lost in the jumble of sports and updates on the latest celebrity wedding. We can see it on the news, where almost every other story is about America’s staggering unemployment, political gridlock and financial turmoil.

How did our parents and grandparents get through momentous events like the Great Depression and World War II?  I believe the great American ideals of perseverance, faith, and a love of freedom played a major role.  It was these values that were reinvigorated ten years ago.  I remember seeing the Stars and Stripes being proudly displayed everywhere, neighbors volunteering their time and resources to help the victims, and a people roused with a righteous passion to defeat terrorism no matter the cost.

It was this type of response that led to the Allied victory of World War II, and it is this type of “Greatest Generation” response we need if we are to ultimately triumph over freedom’s enemies.  As a nation we can individually respond by participating in the “September 11 Fly the Flag Campaign” where every home, office, and store displays an American flag, no matter how small.  We can also wear a flag pin on our clothing and display one on our cars.  Not only would this simple act of patriotism honor our country, it would also recall the days immediately after September 11 where we came together not as a member of a race, class or political party, but as Americans.

We must tell our children what September 11 meant to us and how they can help make our country stronger.  As Ronald Reagan once said,

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same…”

My desire is for each American to attend a “9-11″ event in their community. Let us honor the victims, pray for the continued safety of our troops on the battlefield, and recommit ourselves to defending liberty.  As a nation conceived on the idea that all are created equal, we cannot afford to do any less.

During one of the worst economic slumps in California’s history, you would think the state would not want to make it more expensive for families to buy things they need and at the same time put thousands of Californians out of business. But Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative Democrats did that, further enforcing their convoluted belief that higher costs will improve our economy.

As part of the Democrat budget deal passed in the middle of the night in June, the Legislature passed the “Amazon Tax,” which targets Internet retailers such as Amazon. Under previous law, only so-called “brick and mortar” retailers with an actual physical presence in the state are required to charge sales tax. When we, as consumers, purchase from an on-line retailer we are to pay the sales tax on our income tax form.

This new law forces the out-of-state retailers to collect California sales tax on items sold online, even if the company has no physical presence in California and the only connection it has to our state is a “live link” or “click-thru” to another business’ website located in California.

I voted against the Amazon Tax because it will increase costs for millions of Californians who make Internet purchases and hurt efforts to bring back jobs to our state. In fact, California is already suffering the consequences. Right after Gov. Brown signed the bill into law, Amazon severed its ties with 10,000 affiliates based in our state who are paid commissions to steer buyers to Amazon’s website through links on their own sites.

Ironically, the Amazon Tax could very well lead to less tax revenue for the state. That is because the tens of thousands of California-based affiliates are small businesses that employ Californians and generate vital economic activity for our communities. According to one estimate, California web-based companies that earn income from ads placed on their websites paid $151 million in state income taxes. But now, thanks to the Amazon Tax, we could lose this revenue because out-of-state retailers will partner with out-of state website companies to access California’s market in response to this new law.

While the decisions of Amazon and other companies to drop their California affiliates are regrettable, who can blame them?

Sacramento already imposes on Californians one of the highest tax and regulatory burdens in the nation, all of which make economic success here much tougher than in lower- taxed states. As if the Amazon Tax was not enough, Democrats tried to raise the income, sales and car taxes even further. Thankfully, my Republican colleagues and I were able to block those tax increases.

Last year the Legislature considered similar legislation. At that time the state Board of Equalization estimated that the state might receive zero revenue from the Amazon Tax because of lost business. While it remains to be seen what the overall effect will be, California stands to lose tens of millions of tax dollars annually because of the severed relationships between online retailers and California affiliates.

Forcing families to pay more for the things they need will leave them with less money for other priorities, which will hurt their pocketbooks even more. The Amazon Tax may make some Democrats feel good, but it will be our economy that will be left holding the bag.

Given the state’s multi-billion dollar deficit and our schools receiving a “C” in a recent national education survey, there should be no higher priority than addressing both problems. You would think the legislature would be laser-focused on coming up with innovative solutions to promote student achievement and to reform government. Unfortunately that isn’t the case in Sacramento.

Let’s take a look at one bill, currently passed by the Senate along party lines and now on the floor of the Assembly. “Political correctness” in our children’s history lessons must now be taught if we follow the logic of the Democrats that control the legislature. Right now, the State Assembly is considering Senate Bill 48, legislation authored by San Francisco lawmaker Leno, which would add lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to the list of groups that schools must teach about in social studies classes.  SB 48 would also require local school districts to use textbooks and other materials that cover their contributions in a politically correct manner.

The real motivation behind this bill is for liberal activists to force local schools to teach controversial subject matter in a way that benefits their ideology.  This bill will sexualize the teaching of history to elementary-age school children. These activists know that if they can successfully shape the school curriculum into their worldview, they can influence the opinions of students as they mature into adulthood.

When it comes to teaching controversial issues such as gay history, PARENTS should make that choice, not state lawmakers.  Given California’s diversity, imposing a one-size-fits-all curriculum makes no sense.  Instead of diverting its resources on deciding what should be in our history textbooks, the legislature should focus on issues of far greater importance such as the state’s budget deficit, high unemployment, and protecting classroom funding.  These are the issues that I am working hard to address this year and it’s time we deliver real solutions for the people we represent.

Parents must be brought back into the education equation.  It has been said that schools may teach skills but that it is the parents that truly educate a child.  Controversial topics of sexuality are best discussed at the dinner table, not in the classroom. If the parents of students in San Francisco’s public schools want gay history to be taught, then they have every right to petition their school board.  Parents in other communities such as Chino Hills and Yorba Linda should also have the right to decide through their local school boards.

At a time when our schools are grappling with tough budget cuts, introducing more political correctness is never the answer.

Assemblyman Hagman discusses his legislation to end pensions for politicians.

Everyone knows that trying to pass any kind of meaningful public employee pension reform in the Democrat-dominated legislature would be an extremely difficult proposition. But surely Democrats would be eager to work across party lines and end the practice of politicians taking home generous pensions, right?

Wrong.

In a display of how influential public employee unions truly are in Sacramento, their representatives came in droves to the Assembly Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security committee to oppose the common sense. Opposition included even those groups not affected by the bill.

Just to give a sense of the opposition; CalSTRS, SEIU, Professional Engineers in California Government, California State Sheriffs’ Association, California District Attorneys Association, California School Boards Association, Small School Districts’ Association, California Fraternal Order of Police, Professional Peace Officers Association and Judicial Council of California who are constitutionally exempt from my legislation. So far the only possible compromise offered from the various organizations has been, “We’ll remove our opposition if you exempt us.” The committee gave me the option of continuing to work with the opposition and I accepted in the hopes we could craft a solution to a problem.

I’m not terribly optimistic they will come to the table but I feel this issue is too important and the fight needs to continue.

I introduced this important political reform legislation to prohibit officials elected to any office of any kind in California, from receiving any government retirement benefits. This would have included elected officials and pension systems at the city, county and state levels. This legislation would have saved taxpayer money and prevented politicians from negotiating pensions from which they would personally benefit.

This is perhaps the worst conflict-of-interest of all – politicians voting themselves lavish pensions. After all, how can any politician seriously fight for pension reform when they themselves enjoy a generous pension of their own? Yet from the beginning when I spoke to my Democrat colleagues they refused to support this common-sense reform.

They said they understood the spirit of my bill and were willing to work with me to address the concerns of opponents – namely the public employee unions. During the hearing, the opponents of my bill actually said – without any hint of irony – that my bill would discourage qualified candidates to run for office. This is just laughable. They must have forgotten the fact that state legislators do not receive a pension of any kind and this has not deterred quality candidates from running for office.

My bill would have simply closed the loopholes that allowed other elected officials to receive a pension. Rather than killing my bill outright, the Democrats opted to delay consideration of AB 738 for at least another year. That is the least they can do, given that explaining away a vote to protect pensions for politicians is not exactly popular with working Californians.

Still, it will do nothing to prevent a likely ballot initiative to ban pensions for politicians, which Ventura County Supervisor and a leader in the fight to reform California, Peter Foy has promised may happen – and soon.

Nevertheless, I am committed to passing AB 738 next year with the hope that more public outrage will encourage Democrats to join me in doing the right thing. Californians have expressed strong support for overhauling the state’s flawed pension system for its workers. According to a recent USC/Los Angeles Times poll, 70 percent of California voters surveyed support capping the pensions of public employees. Even 66 percent of self-identified liberals agreed.

There is simply no excuse for government to continue to fund pensions for politicians. Every dime we spend rewarding politicians with pensions is money that we don’t have to spend on vital services relied upon by California families. Public service should be about doing what’s right for the hard-working citizens we are each privileged to represent.

It should not be about personal financial gain. While modifying pensions for rank-and-file employees is one thing, ending generous pensions for politicians should not be a partisan issue. Democrats and Republicans should be able to agree that public pension giveaways are simply unsustainable.

Assemblyman Hagman discusses the Democrats’ faulty plan to balance the state budget through tax increases

The California legislature saw its shadow and now the budget is in chaos again. The Democrats, who control the legislature, state that education and public safety will wither unless their proposed tax increases are adopted. These scare tactics had an impact on us several years ago when the Democratic legislature opted to “temporarily” increase taxes to prevent this onslaught of anarchy. Those increases did not solve our problems because nothing was structurally changed within California’s budget.

The past is repeating itself. The tough decisions were rolled down the road and now we must deal with it again. With California facing a $26.6 billion budget deficit, Sacramento has no choice but to cut spending and make meaningful reforms to prevent another fiscal disaster.

Unfortunately, the Democrats rammed through a series of budget bills that contained more of the same gimmicks, borrowing, fund shifts and delays that got California into this budget mess in the first place. While the budget bills voted on recently contained some modest savings to reduce the deficit, their plan actually increases spending by 31% over three years. They even rejected $1.7 billion of Governor Brown’s proposed cuts to welfare and social services programs, hoping that Californians will someday approve $55 billion in higher taxes on themselves.

Democrats claimed their plan is a “balanced” approach of cuts and taxes. However, the cuts in their plan last for only one year, while the taxes they seek would be on the books for five years. Any time you see the word “temporary” your mind should read “permanent” based upon past actions. In addition, many of their cuts come from what is called “realignment,” where the state shifts some responsibilities to local governments.

In practice, it could jeopardize public safety in my district and communities across the state. For example, 68,000 felons who would have previously served time in state prison would be transferred to crowded local jails and subject to early release. Releasing criminals before they have served their time is a recipe for disaster.

The most glaring aspect of the Democrat budget is the absence of reform. Instead of more taxes why not implement pension reform…and a spending cap…and a reduction of business regulations through pro-jobs reforms. On pensions, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office has reported that state pension costs have grown from $1.4 billion to $6 billion over the past decade. By comparison, we will spend $9.8 billion on higher education this year.

Without reform, lawmakers may soon be forced to choose between bloated pensions and our children’s future. With a spending cap Republicans want spending to increase no faster than the rate of inflation and population growth, with extra money going primarily to reserves and debt repayment.

Finally, if we make it easier for job creators to invest in our state, we will see more companies hiring more people, which would lead to more tax revenues to adequately fund priorities such as education. That is what pro-jobs reforms will bring to California. In contrast, higher taxes will make it less likely for employers to invest in California.

Sadly, Democrats have chosen to move forward with their budget which will lead to more deficits. That is why I will continue to fight for serious budget solutions that will end the failed status quo. We simply cannot afford to continue the taxing, shifting and deferring of previous years deficits that have led to our existing dilemma.

We can all celebrate now that Election Day is behind us. Campaign literature has stopped crowding our mailboxes, the street corners are clear of candidate’s signs, and those recorded messages about who to vote for have stopped clogging up our machines. But what do the results mean for the Golden State?

We can all celebrate now that Election Day is behind us. Campaign literature has stopped crowding our mailboxes, the street corners are clear of candidate’s signs, and those recorded messages about who to vote for have stopped clogging up our machines. But what do the results mean for the Golden State?

While the rest of the country has reaffirmed the two-party rule, the balance of power in California is now lop-sided. Not only will Jerry Brown be back in the Governor’s office for a third term, but we currently have a Democrat-controlled Legislature since they have increased their majority in the Assembly. Furthermore, the people approved Proposition 25 which allows the Democrats to craft and pass budgets on a simple majority vote without any Republican votes necessary.

For Republicans, there is no getting around the fact that Democrats will now be in charge of state government. Although taxpayers and small businesses fear the potential for more taxes and bigger government, there is still reason for hope. If we look at the other state ballot measures besides Prop. 25, we see the people displaying a decidedly anti-tax bent. For example, Californians overwhelmingly rejected Prop. 21, which would have raised the car tax by $18. Voters also rejected Prop. 24, which would have repealed tax incentives for job creation in California providing people saw through the misleading ads that framed these incentives as tax loopholes. Because of Prop. 24′s defeat, our state remains competitive with other Western states in the fight for new jobs. While the people gave Democrats the power to pass their own budget, they also passed Prop. 26, which stops state and local politicians from raising hidden taxes on goods like food and gas by a simple majority vote thus making it harder for the Legislature to raise taxes through the back door. Essentially the voters gave with one hand and took with the other.

Of course, no one should be surprised if Democrats push for higher taxes when the Legislature reconvenes next year. Big government interest groups will feel like they will have a friend in the Governor’s Office come January, but it remains to be seen how Governor-elect Brown will respond to their demands. After all, he did run a fiscally-centrist campaign promising no new taxes without voter approval.

Whatever course chosen, I will hold Democrats accountable for their budget choices in the months ahead. The people expect a budget that is not only passed on time, but also passed without gimmicks and higher taxes. Working families deserve an honest no-tax budget, and I am committed to fighting for their priorities in the next two years.

As I begin my second term in the State Assembly, I look forward to working with both Republicans and Democrats on the issues that matter most to Californians: encouraging more private sector jobs, cutting wasteful spending, and protecting public safety. The election is over, and it’s time for both sides to get to work.

Proposition 19: Legalize and Tax Marijuana – OPPOSE
Proposition 20: Redistricting for Congress – SUPPORT
Proposition 21: Vehicle License Fee for Parks – OPPOSE
Proposition 22: Bans State Form Borrowing or Redirecting Local Funds – SUPPORT
Proposition 23: Suspends AB32 – SUPPORT
Proposition 24: Repeals Corporate Tax Benefits – OPPOSE
Proposition 25: Majority Vote for Passing a Budget – OPPOSE
Proposition 26: Two-Thirds Vote for Approving Fees – SUPPORT
Proposition 27: Eliminates Redistricting Commission – OPPOSE

And Please Remember to Vote for Meg, Carly, and our other fellow Republicans!