After some crossed wires and some behind-the-scenes sniping, it appears as if budget negotiators are finally on the verge of announcing a deal to help the state's cash flow problems.
Capitol Weekly reports, "Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, saying she was "very, very upbeat," said Sunday that a framework to resolve California's $26.3 billion budget deficit was in place and could be finalized Monday in talks between Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders. She said the revised spending plan could be formally approved by the Legislature by Thursday.
"When asked if a framework for an overall deal was in place, she said, "that is the case. There are no significant looming issues," she said in a Sunday news conference at the Capitol.
"Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said Sunday that budget negotiatiors "are in a position to close out very quickly, but there are still some issues left to resolve."
So what's in the deal?
"Under the framework of the deal, sources in the governors office and the Legislature say schools would be cut $680 million above and beyond the reductions adopted by the Democrat-controlled legislative conference committee. While the state's welfare program, CalWORKS, would not be entirely eliminated, the cuts would also go beyond what the conference committee had proposed.
Democrats also appear to have been able to hold the line against reducing the length of time people can receive welfare benefits. Currently, there is a five-year maximum on welfare benefits, and Schwarzenegger had sought to reduce that number to two years. Democrats said it appeared changes in the benefit eligibility timeline would not be made as part of this budget deal.
"Local governments are also slated to take a big hit, but Bass said it remained unclear what the final number on local government cuts would be. Among the proposals on the table are to take about $1.6 billion worth of gas tax revenues from locals, and another plan to borrow up to $2 billion from local governments overall budgets."
Bass held a Capitol press conference after a day of e-mail back-and-forth between her office and the governor's office.
Matthew Yi reports, "Aaron McLear, a spokesman for Schwarzenegger, sent an e-mail notice to reporters early Sunday afternoon saying the meeting was postponed until this morning because Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Baldwin Vista (Los Angeles County), was unable to arrive in Sacramento until "at least 8 p.m."
"Shannon Murphy, a spokeswoman for Bass, responded by saying the Assembly speaker was returning to Sacramento by 6 p.m. and would be available for the talks.
"A short while later, McLear sent another e-mail, saying: "The leaders were unable to coordinate their schedules tonight so they will meet Monday at 11 a.m. Staff will continue to draft (bill) language and work through issues in the meantime."
We're sure the governor's office has already complained about the headline on the Bee's budget story this morning: "Schwarzenegger Postpones Budget Talks."
George Skelton writes the governor should be a bit more inclusive when blaming Sacramento for the budget woes. "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been chanting this mantra since he first landed in Sacramento: Sacramento must learn to live within its means.
"But rather than talking to a TV camera, Schwarzenegger
should be talking to a mirror.
"It's
true that Democratic-dominated legislatures have been guilty of passing
bills that spent money the state didn't have. But most of what gets
spent in Sacramento must be OKd by a governor.
"For Schwarzenegger to rail about the state not living within its means is disingenuous, to put it politely. He's as guilty as anyone -- at minimum a co-conspirator. In fact, he's directly responsible for a significant portion of the current $26-billion budget gap."
Whatever's in the final budget, plenty of people won't like it. The LAT's Margot Roosevelt begins to register the environmentalists' complaints with the deal.
"Once again, environmentalists are sounding the
alarm that eco-issues are on the table in the budgetary arm wrestling
that has paralyzed Sacramento in recent weeks.
"Eight major
advocacy groups wrote Schwarzenegger and legislative
leaders on July 16 asking that they resist efforts to insert into the
budget a provision that could enable the building of
new power plants
in the Los Angeles Basin.
"The South Coast Air Quality Management District, a
regional agency, is pushing the provision, incorporated
in a stalled bill in the state Senate, SB 696. The air quality district has been
prevented by a recent court ruling from giving out emissions credits for power plants
until it fully analyzes the environmental impact.
"Republican and some Democratic legislators,
along with the California Chamber of Commerce and other
business groups, want any budget deal to overturn the
court
decision."
The Washington Post profiles Los Angeles Rep. Henry Waxman , and looks at his role in steering the president's health care reform plan through Congress.
"For his first feat this legislative session, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) staged a coup and deposed a sitting chairman and dean of the House. He followed that up with a nail-biter victory in the House for his beloved climate change bill.
"But on Monday, the hard work will begin for the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee as he labors to advance President Obama's endangered health-reform agenda.
"If Obama is to succeed, he will need the 5-foot-5 Los Angeles liberal to quell an uprising by conservative Democrats, overcome a budget gap in excess of $240 billion and possibly swallow compromises on pet issues such as biogenerics and a new government-sponsored health program."
Why you gotta go to the short guy card?
And we don't know how we missed this one when it first ran, but apparently there was something of a battle between Antonio Villaraigosa and Kobe Bryant recently.
Betty Pleasant reports, "Lakers great Kobe Bryant confronted Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at the start of last week’s jam-packed Lakers victory parade and added a whole new dimension to the day’s festivities….
(The parade got off to a late start.) The cause of the hold-up was occurring adjacent to the locker room, where Kobe was refusing to ride on the City Council bus because the mayor was to ride on it. At the same time, the mayor, the consummate spotlight thief, was refusing to get on the City Council bus unless he got on with Kobe. Kobe loudly denounced the mayor in phrases that started with “I don’t like the …” and ended with “I’m not going to let him pimp my popularity!”
"The impasse ended and the parade started after Kobe got on the team bus and the mayor was sneaked onto the same bus behind Kobe’s back by a couple of his teammates. As the team bus approached Georgia Street, it was greeted by about 100 city workers who had labored throughout the previous day and night preparing the Coliseum for the rally. The bus stopped in front of them and the hard-working crew went ballistic for the team and shouted and cheered like they’d lost their minds. Then the mayor popped up from among the players and waved to the group, which suddenly turned silent, as if a spigot had been turned off.
"The mayor introduced the members of the team and after he introduced Kobe, he extended his hand for the customary shake and Kobe strode right past him ignoring the outstretched hand."