"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday
proposed a restrained state spending plan that would rely on a growing economy and cuts in welfare and public transportation to nearly erase the budget deficits that have plagued the state in recent years," reports Clea Benson in the Bee.
"The governor outlined a $103 billion general fund budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, an increase of only about 1 percent over this year.
Schwarzenegger said his budget would "eliminate" the state's budget deficit, though the state would spend about $1.8 billion more than it earns. His staff said the shortfall would be zero if he were not proposing expenditures on positive economic items, like paying back state debt early. Schwarzenegger hailed that as a major accomplishment. This year's shortfall was $4.5 billion.
'
We have got our fiscal house in order,' the Republican governor said at a Sacramento news conference. '
We have done it not through burdening people and burdening businesses, but through economic growth.'"
Let us be the first to say "
thank you, Larry and Sergei." The Roundup loves your search engine; the state loves your dough.
With such an easy budget, the Bee's Steve Weigand
has already written his budget wrap story.
Carla Marinucci writes that "[t]he biggest savings, $627 million, comes from using extra money in the state's public transit account
instead of money from the general fund to pay for busing students to school. The account has seen a windfall of tax revenue from higher gas and diesel prices.
But some argue that taking money away from public transit is going in the wrong direction.
'It's ironic that in the same 24 hours the governor is being applauded for his commitment to reducing emissions caused by driving, he's cutting public transportation,' said
Carli Paine, transportation program director for the Transportation and Land Use Coalition."
A balanced budget? Dan Walters
writes "But is it real or just a new version of the financial trickery that has been employed by the state's politicians for the past half-decade? The answer: It's kinda, more-or-less, maybe balanced with some serious caveats."
Andy Furillo
reports on the corrections budget. "Driven by pay hikes and court orders, spending for state prisons next year is projected to top $10 billion in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's new budget -- a virtual doubling over the past seven years.
Salary hikes for the 62,700 employees in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation accounted for $360 million of the increase. The federal courts, meanwhile, have ordered up more than $400 million in new spending, with much of that paying for new doctors, nurses, dentists and other clinicians, according to corrections officials.
'
I think it's a sad statement for our society that we have to spend so much money on corrections when we're cutting health care for children and we are unable to have schools that are providing the education our students need for the next century,' said state Sen.
Mike Machado, D-Linden, chairman of the budget subcommittee that oversees prison spending. '
On the other hand, it's a necessary expenditure to be able to meet the constitutional requirements we have for incarcerating people who have committed crimes against society.'"
Increased spending, more or less balanced budget, who could be unhappy?
The Chron's Tanya Schevitz reports that
university students are unhappy with proposed fee increases. "The governor's proposed budget projects hefty tuition increases for the state's 610,000 university students, including a 10 percent undergraduate tuition hike for the California State University system and a 7 percent boost at the University of California.
With tuition fees having nearly doubled since 2002, the announcement brought a swift and angry reaction from student groups, who plan to flood the governor's office today with telephone complaints.
Current fees at UC campuses are about $6,141 annually and would jump about $430 a year under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed spending plan. At CSU's 23 campuses, the current fees of $2,520 a year would climb about $252.
Nadir Vissanjy, president of the California State Student Association and a student at Sonoma State University, said the governor campaigned on an education agenda but has not followed through with support for college students who are struggling financially.
'
I was surprised that the governor decided to levy a tax on the students,' he said. 'The governor is saying one thing publicly but his budget reflects a different story. It was a shift in priorities.'"
CW's John Howard
looks at tax expenditures, which may be a target for those trying to add items to the governor's budget or eliminate fee increases. "Tax loopholes are the invisible pieces of the California budget, drawing scant attention from either Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger or the Democrat-controlled Legislature. But this year, for the first time, the administration must start detailing some $28 billion in tax breaks--who benefits, how much the state loses and why they were passed in the first place."
Anyway, university students aren't happy. Anyone else?
The LAT's Nancy Vogel writes: "They are a minority party in the Legislature, but
Republicans will be needed to pass the budget, put bond measures on the ballot and impose any new taxes. So they must now figure out how to shape, or block, the agenda of a very popular governor from their own party who is championing proposals that are anathema to conservatives."
Oh, yeah. The Republicans.
"'We'd like to see real bipartisan work,' said
Mike Villines of Clovis, leader of the Assembly's Republicans. 'When you can get strong numbers from both caucuses to agree on something, that's what Californians want.'
Critical components would require not just the votes of Democrats but also those of at least eight Republicans.
Sen.
Dave Cox (R-Fair Oaks) said he has heard already from people in his district east of Sacramento
complaining about the governor's wish to give healthcare to children who are in California illegally.
'
Providing services for illegal immigrants is not centrist in any part of California,' he said.
The leader of the Senate's Republicans,
Dick Ackerman of Irvine,
called the governor's plan to assess a percentage of doctor and hospital earnings a "tax" even though administration officials call the assessments a fee. The distinction is critical, because fees can be passed without Republican votes, but new taxes require a two-thirds majority vote.
Ackerman predicted that that aspect of Schwarzenegger's plan would not pass the Legislature. 'It's not good policy,' Ackerman said.
Other Republicans praised the governor's commitment to building dams but expressed dismay at his proposal to do it with borrowed money. Last year, Republican resistance helped force Schwarzenegger to scale back his plans for a $68-billion bond package.
'
I'm extremely reluctant to entertain the idea of more bonding,' said Assemblyman
Chuck Devore (R-Irvine). 'I'm very concerned that we'll get into a situation where future governors and legislatures will have an untenable debt and repayment burden.'"
Speaking of the Republicans, George Skelton writes that
they're reflecting California's views on providing health insurance to undocumented immigrants. "The governor wants to require everybody in California to carry health insurance. That means illegal immigrants too. People who can't afford coverage would get state subsidies.
'If you can't afford it, the state will help you buy it, but you must be insured,' Schwarzenegger declared Monday in announcing his plan.
No way, say most Californians. Not for people who sneaked into the state illegally.
A new poll being released today by the Survey and Policy Research Institute at San Jose State University shows that when Republican legislative leaders flat-out call the concept of insuring illegal immigrants "a nonstarter," they're reflecting the California mainstream.
Conservatives are in the center on this one. Schwarzenegger is over on the left.[In a poll released today by the Survey and Policy Research Center, when asked] whether the state should guarantee health insurance for illegal immigrants, 37% answered yes, 52% no. The negative reaction was even stronger among registered voters: 32% yes, 58% no."
The Bee's Kevin Yamamura
checks in on the governor's recovery and the impact on his agenda. "The Republican governor, who uses crutches to walk after breaking his right leg skiing, acknowledged Wednesday he has "ongoing pain" of a sort he has never felt before. He blamed his accident on his little-known artificial hip as he answered questions for the first time since his Dec. 23 accident at an Idaho resort.
'
I don't think I can remember ever having had pain, ongoing pain, 24 hour hours a day like after this operation,' he said. 'So it's really annoying to me. And believe me, there's nothing ... I hate more than having an obstacle like this. So this is very frustrating to me.'"
The governor also responded to questions about his accident.
"The governor suggested Wednesday that his artificial hip was to blame for his accident because his leg may have torqued differently from how it would have naturally. He also responded to public curiosity about how he could have such a severe leg break without speeding down a hill.
'When in skiing, you have an accident at a slow speed, that means that your ski does not pop off,' Schwarzenegger said. 'I had an artificial hip that was replaced around five years ago. Because it was vulnerable, the ski torqued the leg and broke the femur because of that.'"
And, he admits he's not the easiest patient.
"'
It's very tough on my wife because, you know, when I get frustrated and I have these obstacles, I am very angry a lot of times,' Schwarzenegger said."
CW looks into the
slow pace of committee assignments. "In the Assembly, a spokesman for Speaker
Fabian Núñez said the sheer number of freshmen has slowed down the committee-assignment process this year. 'We have 34 new members of our caucus. It's just taking us a while to figure out who everybody is and what their interests are,' said Núñez spokesman
Richard Stapler.
The Senate also has been slow to make their committee assignments, but Senate President Pro Tem
Don Perata spokeswoman
Alicia Trost said the assignments are expected imminently. 'I know they're working on it,' she said.
Sources in both the Assembly and Senate Democratic caucuses say
preliminary lists are in place and committee assignments will be announced as soon as next week. Other estimates have put the release date as late as early February."
Meanwhile, CW's Malcolm Maclachlan looks at
what happens when you turn lawmaking over to schoolchildren. "Last month, freshman Assemblyman
Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, announced his first ever "There Oughta Be a Law ... or Not" contest. It's modeled closely on the contest Senator
Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, launched in 2001 while he was in the Assembly.
The first tilt surprised Simitian and his staff by pulling in around 100 serious entries. Even more surprising was when three made it into law.
'That really signaled to people that this was for real,' Simitian said. "You could have an idea at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year it would be law for 37 million Californians."
Senator
Tom Harman, R-Costa Mesa, also has launched his own contest, this one limited to sixth to twelfth graders in his district. The deadline for this year's contest passed on November 30. In the next two weeks, he'll announce which of around 60 entries will be introduced in the coming legislative session. Harman had a similar contest in 2002 when he was in the Assembly."
While only a small portion of our audience are schoolchildren, many long for the days of yesteryear. This is a frustrating time as lobbyists and legislative staffers, where only a small percentage (although sometimes not small enough) of the ideas make it across the chief clerk's desk.
Therefore, it's time for our first
Roundup Contest for 2007!
If you had the votes, what would you do to advance the lives of your fellow Californians, or simply to make your life better?
E-mail your ideas to
tips@capitolbasement.com.