California should be the most fun place in America.
Look at what we have. Beaches, lakes, mountains, parks, incredible weather, great food and music, and people from every part of the world. It should be almost impossible to make California boring.
But the politicians and bureaucrats who run our state are doing their best!
CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN FOUNDER SAYS CALIFORNIA HAS BECOME TOO DIFFICULT FOR ENTREPRENEURS
California was not built by killjoys. It became the worlds great magnet for artists, inventors, rebels and misfits because this was the place you came to create, experiment and live freely.
Try doing something fun today.
Want to put on a band at a small venue? You can end up dealing with separate rules for entertainment, dancing, sound, alcohol and zoning. Want to organize a block party? Get ready to deal with police, fire, health, public works and alcohol officials. Want to take your dog to the beach, gather your family around a firepit or turn a vacant storefront into a neighborhood meeting place? The answer from the killjoy bureaucrats: No, No, No.
Orâ¦maybe, but only once youve spent months â and thousands of dollars â proving that your harmless idea should be allowed.
How did we get here? It wasnt one law or one decision. The rules just piled up. Every time somebody identified a potential problem, the answer was another law, another regulation, another permit, form or ban. Nobody ever went back and asked whether the old rules still made sense.
The bureaucracy only moves in one direction: more rules, more red tape, more infuriating, inhuman, joyless nonsense. More people telling you no.
NEW YORK BUSINESS GROUP CAMPAIGNS TO END ‘PROHIBITION-ERA’ ALCOHOL RESTRICTIONS STATEWIDE
Of course, we need rules against real harm. Nobody wants alcohol served to minors, unsafe food, wildfires, drunk driving or neighborhoods kept awake all night. But those are specific problems. Deal with them specifically.
Instead, the killjoys use the possibility that something might go wrong as an excuse to stop everyone from doing anything. Big companies can hire lawyers and consultants. Independent venues, food vendors, musicians, nonprofits, families and volunteers simply give up.
As governor, I will lead the fightback against the killjoys. I want to help restore the soul and spirit of California. Thats why as governor I will create OFF: a new Office of Fun and Freedom.
OFF will be a small rapid-action team inside the Governors Office. It will not be another sprawling department. Its job will be to get rid of rules, not write new ones.
LOS ANGELES NEIGHBORHOOD FOURTH OF JULY PARADE CANCELED AFTER BASS BUDGET CUTS, ORGANIZERS CLAIM
In its first 100 days, OFF will audit state rules affecting nightlife, community events, food pop-ups, public recreation and social spaces. Every agency will have to explain what specific harm each restriction prevents. If it cant, well get rid of it.
OFF will create one online front door for state event permits. Agencies will coordinate with each other instead of maddeningly sending people from pillar to post. Rou