Yesterday was the first day of school, and there was
little celebrating before the daunting task of tackling
the state budget sunk in.
The Bee's Jim Sanders reports:
"Twenty-five new Assembly members bowed their heads, then opened
them to plenty of red – the red carpet treatment followed by dire warnings
of red ink.
"Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass warned their houses that time is of the essence.
"Steinberg vowed to tackle four key issues in 120 days: an economic stimulus package, water infrastructure
bonds, health care for all children, and setting stiffer
goals for renewable energy.
"'People do not expect miracle fixes for these or other
challenges,' said Steinberg, a Sacramento Democrat who was sworn
in as Senate leader. 'But they do expect us to get going.'
"Bass, D-Los Angeles, urged the new Assembly to be "very mindful that the clock is ticking" as the state wrestles with a projected $27.8 billion shortfall over two years.
"The Legislature, which normally does not begin until
Jan. 1, was ordered into special session Monday by Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger."
"With time and money running out for California, Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal emergency Monday and called legislators
into a new special session that won't end until they agree on a way to trim the state's $11.2 billion budget deficit," writes John Wildermuth and Wyatt Buchanan in the Chron.
"'Without immediate action, our state is headed for a
fiscal disaster' in which California could run out of money to pay
its bills by late February, the governor said in a
news conference in Los Angeles.
"He compared the growing deficit, which could reach
$28 billion by 2010, to an avalanche gaining momentum, and he slammed
the Legislature, Democrats and Republicans, for not
coming up with solutions during a special session that
ended Nov. 25.
"'Unfortunately for California, the legislators did not
seem to appreciate the severity of our crisis,' Schwarzenegger said. 'In an emergency like this, we have to take quick action
to avoid even worse problems, even if they include
decisions we don't like.'"
Jordan Rau and Patrick McGreevy report for the Times:
"Republican lawmakers, who last week blocked a Democratic
proposal to cut billions of dollars from schools, healthcare
and welfare programs while tripling the vehicle license
fee, quickly reiterated their opposition to any new taxes, which both Schwarzenegger and Democrats say are indispensable.
Democratic legislators again dismissed some of Schwarzenegger's proposals to ease labor rules on business in order
to boost the economy.
"'Now, I compare the situation that we are in right now
to finding an accident victim on the side of the road
that is bleeding to death,' Schwarzenegger said at a news conference at his Los
Angeles office. 'We wouldn't spend hours debating over which ambulance we should
use, or which hospital we would use, or which treatment
the patient needs. No, we would first stop the bleeding,
and that's exactly the same thing we have to do here.'
"Schwarzenegger said immediate action is essential because
although the state projects a $28-billion deficit by mid-2010, California is on track to run out of cash by February
or March. He said that if lawmakers fail to act within
45 days as required under his declaration of a fiscal
emergency, they will have to find an additional $1.5 billion to $2 billion in savings or new revenue above what is needed
right now. He said the administration is already drawing
up plans to lay off state workers."
The Bee's Kevin Yamamura writes:
"New Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, promised "a needed shot of adrenaline" in his first floor speech as Senate leader. He announced plans to appoint all 40 state senators to the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review
Committee.
"Steinberg later explained the move would force more
budget discussions to take place in public rather than
behind closed doors among legislative leaders in the
Governor's Office. He also said it would hold all lawmakers
accountable."
So, where is this committee going to meet?
"Steinberg said he supports having the state budget
in print 24 hours before a floor vote. During the failed budget
vote last week, some lawmakers complained they had
only seen the plan hours before.
"After lawmakers set a new tardiness record this year
for passing a $103.4 billion general fund budget in late September, Steinberg
said the Legislature should plan to approve its next
spending plan by May 15, a full month before the state's constitutional deadline."
"A day after declaring a fiscal crisis in California,
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will be in Philadelphia today to deliver a face-to-face plea to President-elect Barack Obama for more public-works money to help break the recession's grip on states," report Michael Gardner and James Sweeney in the U-T.
"California has $26 billion in projects – from airports to roads – that are stalled until additional federal funding
comes through.
"'So this is why I'm going back there, to talk about projects we have
ready to go,' Schwarzenegger said yesterday in Los Angeles. 'We can put a shovel in the ground literally the day
after he becomes president.'
"While he plans to encourage Obama to release dollars
for long-term economic recovery projects, Schwarzenegger also
made it clear that he will not be seeking a direct
federal bailout to rescue California from its immediate
cash crunch.
"'I would never ask the federal government to help us
before we have straightened out our own fiscal mess,' said Schwarzenegger, who will make a presentation
to Obama on behalf of dozens of governors attending
the session."
Dan Walters thinks that the new Legislature might be able to get something done on the budget.
"So why is the new Legislature a "maybe" on coming to grips with the crisis? It's because Democrats increased their majority in the
Assembly by three seats to 51, leaving only three Republican votes needed to pass
a budget package.
"Conceivably, Assembly GOP leader Mike Villines – who has emerged as the pivotal figure in the situation
– could cut a deal with Schwarzenegger and Democrats
to provide only his vote and those of two other GOP
leaders, thus leaving every other Republican free to
vote against it or abstain. And if a deal was approved
in the Assembly, the Senate would almost certainly
follow.
"Such a deal, however, might also require virtually
every Democrat to vote for labor and environmental
changes that some of the party's biggest supporters despise, such as altering the
eight-hour working day. So the real question remains: Who will blink first?"
"Former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez has taken a lucrative seat on the board of directors
for a workers' compensation insurer after helping broker a 2004 deal that benefited the industry," reports Shane Goldmacher in the Bee.
"The Los Angeles Democrat was termed out of the Assembly
on Sunday, and on Monday, Zenith National Insurance
Corp. appointed him to its board.
"Company filings say that directors are paid $90,000 per year, with an additional $40,000 paid for every committee on which they serve. Núñez said he did not know if his post was paid.
"'You have to ask Zenith,' he said. Zenith did not return calls for comment.
"But, Núñez added, "If board members get compensated, then I would be compensated,
as well."
"Doug Heller, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, a group
that tracks the insurance industry, criticized the
deal.
"'This is the revolving door working at its worst,' he said."
Or best, depending on your perspective.
"Despite increased speculation that Los Angeles Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa may be heading to Washington, he said Monday that he would not be joining President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet," reports Phil Willon in the Times.
"Villaraigosa said he had a "conversation" with Obama in mid-November about joining the new Democratic administration
but told the incoming president that he would stay
in Los Angeles to focus on his reelection campaign
and ongoing efforts to address the city's financial troubles and other pressing issues.
"'I'm honored and flattered to have been considered for
an appointment in the Obama administration,' Villaraigosa told The Times on Monday. 'I made it clear I love what I do. And I feel that at
this moment in my life, this is the job in which I
can best serve my city and country.'
"Bolting to the Obama administration, while potentially
beneficial to Villaraigosa's long-term political ambitions, would have created political
mayhem in Los Angeles.
"Villaraigosa faces no strong opposition in the city's March primary election, and the deadline for mayoral
candidates to file has already passed. No other candidates
would be allowed to run for mayor unless they were
write-ins, according to city election officials."
"Daniel Zingale, a senior Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
aide who works
on health care issues and serves as chief of staff
to First Lady Maria
Shriver, will leave the Governor's Office in January," reports Capitol Alert.
"Zingale will become a senior vice president for policy
and
communications for The California Endowment, a leading health care
foundation based in Los Angeles. He will remain based
in Sacramento,
where he will be charged in part with establishing
the foundation's
presence here."
And finally from our That's One Way To Handle It Files, AP reports, "A man who rammed his truck into a woman's vehicle on a highway early
Friday told authorities he crashed into her while going
more than 100
mph because God told him "she needed to be taken off the road.
"The
truck rear-ended the car on U.S. Highway 281, both vehicles spun across
a median then came to a stop along a barrier in the
opposite lanes.
Both drivers suffered only minor injuries.
"He just said God said she wasn't driving right, and she needed to be taken off the
road," Bexar County Sheriff's Office spokesman Kyle Coleman said in the online edition of the San Antonio Express-News. "God must have been with them, 'cause any other time, the severity of this crash, it
would have been a fatal."
