The good news? Well, the state's revenue projections were pretty much on target. The bad news? There's still a $20 billion hole in the budget. Judy Lin looks at the bad budget news from the LAO.
"The report by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office warned that the nation's most populous state will face huge fiscal challenges even as the national economic outlook improves and the state economy heads toward a recovery in a year or two.
In his report, Mac Taylor, the Legislature's nonpartisan budget analyst, urged Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers to act swiftly on permanent solutions by making deeper reductions in all state programs and looking to raise revenue."
Capitol Weekly looks at the reshuffling in the governor's office as he prepares for his final year in office.
"As Gov. Schwarznegger prepares for his final year in office, he has begun a major reshuffling of his senior staff. Meanwhile, the administration is trying to cobble together a pro-active agenda that will not be overwhelmed by a $20 billion deficit.
"The deficit and near-record unemployment are among the major obstacles Schwarzenegger
must navigate in his final year in office. But Schwarzenegger
is working on what his team promises will be an ambitious
policy agenda, to be laid out in his final State of
the State address in January.
"Among the issues on the govenror’s list is renewable energy. Though he vetoed Democratic
measures on increasing the state’s renewable portfolio standard this year, Schwarzenegger
is committed to trying to navigate another compromise
measure through the Legislature.
He will also seek to institutionalize the role of inspector
general, which he created earlier this year. Up until
now, IG Laura Chick has been focused on overseeing
the implementation of federal stimulus funds. But Schwarzenegger
spokesman Aaron McLear said the administration will
seek legislation next year to expand the scope of the
job and make it permanent.
"While the governor mulls his plans for 2010, some new players have come aboard. This week, Scott
Reid was tapped as the governor’s sixth Cabinet Secretary, replacing Victoria Bradshaw,
who held the job for 14 months. Bradshaw will return to her old job as secretary
of the Labor and Workforce Development agency."
The Assembly is coming back early to vote on a new speaker. Just kidding! They're coming back to vote on the state's application for education stimulus funds.
Sharon Noguchi reports, "The California State Assembly will reconvene in December, a month earlier than planned, to hasten the state's pursuit of federal Race to the Top stimulus funds, Speaker Karen Bass said Wednesday.
"States are scrambling to refine laws so they can merit
a share of $4.35 billion in federal monies to improve education.
"Earlier,
Bass, D-Los Angeles, had said she thought the Assembly could
deal with
education reform after it reconvened on Jan. 4. But state Department of
Education officials said that timeline would not leave
them enough time
to compile a competitive application by the Obama administration's
mid-January deadline."
John Howard looks at how 'solving' the state prison overcrowding problem could worsen
the overcrowding of courty jails.
"The overcrowding in California’s prisons has captured public attention
but the counties’ jails also are in dire shape. At least 20 counties
have court-ordered inmate-population limits, and dwindling dollars are
curbing
the ability of the counties to house some 76,000 inmates.
"The Schwarzenegger administration, with the federal
courts breathing down its neck, wants to save money
as well as reduce prison overcrowding. One plan, already
under way, will cut the 167,000-inmate population by more than a fourth over the next
few years by diverting some incoming, non-violent offenders to other programs, expanding parole
and probation, freeing elderly inmates earlier and
boosting threshold for some felonies, such as more
than doubling the value of felony grand theft to $950.
"But three dozen local lockups across the state are
operating under state or federal court orders to curb
overcrowding, according to February 2009 data compiled by the California State Sheriffs Association."
And CW chats with Elaine Howle over the implementation of the state's new redistricting law.
And finally, from our Excuse me Ma"am, but There's a Cow in Your Pool Files, AP reports, "A South Carolina woman who heard a giant splash in her backyard discovered a 650-pound cow had fallen into her swimming pool WSPA-TV reports that the cow fell into Kathy Wydareny's covered pool on Monday night. The Anderson resident says the cow belonged to her neighbor.
"Wydareny was startled by a "giant whoosh" and took a flashlight out to investigate. She called 911 after spotting the cow.
It took five men from the county rescue team to free the cow using a sling."