Despite all the belt-tightening and all the austerity talk, California's budget is expected to grow substantially over the next four years but the surge of incoming cash won't be sufficient to stave off painful cuts.
From the Chronicle's Wyatt Buchanan: "Over the next four years, California's general fund budget is projected to grow from $88.8 billion to $112.5 billion, but that additional money - which will raise the general fund to its highest level in history - will not restore recent cuts to parks, health care and social services."
"Instead, more than half will be automatically spent on K-12 schools and community colleges because of voter-approved Proposition 98, while most of the remaining increase will cover rising costs of health care, prisons and the costs of debt and borrowing."
"California's general fund has been dramatically cut over the past few years. In 2008, prior to the financial downturn, California was projected to spend $122.5 billion in 2011-12, while Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposal calls for spending nearly $34 billion less than that. Brown has touted the statistic that under next year's budget, general fund spending is at 1972 levels when compared to personal income in the state."
Anti-tax gadfly Grover Norquist wandered the Capitol Tuesday, meeting with GOP lawmakers and shoring up support from Republicans for his anti-tax pledge. Gov. Brown, meanwhile, says he's in the midst of negotiations with Republicans over his revised budget. The Bee's Kevin Yamamura and David Siders have the story.
"Can Norquist spook the legislators?" Brown told reporters after speaking with California State University presidents. "I don't believe so. I think he's going to come out here to California and meet his match."
"Norquist wields a big stick when it comes to California's budget: A one-sentence pledge against higher taxes signed by nearly all GOP lawmakers. The president of Washington, D.C.-based Americans for Tax Reform says placing a tax measure on the ballot for voters to decide, as Brown wants, would violate the promise."
"His visit came eight days after Brown issued a new budget that relies on extensions of higher tax rates on sales and vehicles, as well as a return to higher income taxes, to bridge a remaining $9.6 billion deficit. Lawmakers already approved cuts to higher education and health and welfare in March."
Speaking of tbhe state budget, there has been shrinkage in at least one area -- the payroll. The OC Register's Brian Joseph reports in HealthyCal.org.
"In this time of crushing budget deficits and guaranteed public pension plans, one sentiment seems widespread among voters: government always grows. Even with cutbacks and a floundering economy, many Americans clearly believe that government only gets bigger."
"But in California, government has indeed shrunk by one metric: the number of employees on the payroll. Employment numbers independently collected by the state Employment Development Department show that since the housing market collapsed in 2008 more than 100,000 federal, state and local government jobs have been eliminated in California, creating the worst job market in that sector since at least 1990."
"All of those lost jobs can be attributed to cuts made to address the state’s chronic, multi-billion budget deficit or to the economic conditions that contributed to the deficit, California economists say."
Meanwhikle, an internal audit shows that some 100 members of the National Guard fraudulently collected pay by violating dual compensation and travel rules. The Bee's Charles Piller tells the tale.
"In preliminary reports issued in March and April, obtained by The Bee, auditor Debbie Richardson reported that 95 Guard members received more than $286,000 in improper compensation for wildfire-response duties in 2008. The problems largely involved a fire-duty premium that full-time Guard members received above their normal state pay."
"Other audits found that three service members got more than $65,000 in inappropriate commute expenses, and one filed fraudulent time sheets for 12 months to receive more than $163,000 while living and working in Texas for that state's Guard."
"If individuals owe money, it will be collected," the Guard said in a written statement to The Bee. A spokesman declined to comment on specific audit findings because the reports are preliminary and officials wanted to avoid compromising future investigations."
In California's first medical parole case, a quadriplegic inmate was turned down for release because of verbal threats he has made to female prison staffers. The Chronicle's Marisa Lagos tells the tale.
"Steven Martinez, 42, was the first California inmate to be considered for medical parole under a law that took effect this year and is aimed at saving taxpayers the expense of providing medical care and security to incapacitated inmates. Under the law, inmates who are "permanently medically incapacitated with a medical condition" that makes them "unable to perform activities of basic daily living" may be released if they do not pose a threat to public safety."
"In announcing the decision after two hours of deliberations, a two-person panel of the State Board of Parole Hearings cited Martinez's lengthy disciplinary record, including threats to nurses and other prison staff members who have cared for him at the Corcoran State Prison's Acute Care Hospital."
"Those disciplinary charges were the focus of much of the nearly 2 1/2-hour hearing. Martinez's attorney, Ken Karan, acknowledged that Martinez is "difficult" and "annoying" but argued that any conflicts were largely the result of personality clashes with individual staff members and a fear on Martinez's part that his own safety was at risk. Karan disputed staff members' account of the incidents in several cases."
Enough of all this politics and policy: Let's turn to our "Spring in the Big Apple" file to learn about the kinds of things that make New York such a special place. Like corpses in the East River.
"More of these so-called floaters are recovered from the city's waterways in April, May and June than during the rest of the year, according to Capt. Anthony J. Russo of the New York Police Department Harbor Unit."
"Of the 25 bodies pulled from local waters in 2009, Russo said 10 were recovered during the spring months. Last year, when 26 floaters were recovered, half of the total surfaced in spring. This year through the end of April there had been nine bodies gathered from the harbor by city officials."
"Icy waters slow the decomposition process during the winter, which helps conceal submerged bodies. Warmer spring weather raises water temperatures, speeding decomposition and causing the release of gases. "The buildup of the gases is what makes the body more buoyant and float to the top," Russo said."
Oh boy....