With more blackouts occurring and with the California legislature passing his centerpiece $13.4 billion electricity bonds, Governor Gray Davis continues to find scapegoats for his disastrous energy policies. When Republican State Assembly members voted against the bond sale, Davis claimed that Republicans were obstructing the solution to the electricity mess. Sorry governor, if you want to see who’s preventing a real solution, just look in the mirror. Take, for example, Davis’s ill-conceived bond scheme.

With rolling blackouts guaranteed as summer heat increases electricity demand over available supply, Californians are right to wonder how the state got into this mess and what will be the fallout of this government-created debacle. This briefing examines the causes of the disaster, Governor Gray Davis’s policy responses, the political ramifications of the crisis, and practical solutions that could be implemented immediately.