"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed Democratic lawmakers' $18 billion mid-year budget package on Tuesday after leaders of the Legislature sent it to him,
saying they were perplexed by his unwillingness to
break a deadlock in negotiations," writes Matthew Yi in the Chron.
"The 16-bill package went to Schwarzenegger despite his earlier
promise to reject it. His veto moved the Legislature
back to square one - the state bleeding revenue and expected to run short
of cash to pay its bills as early as next month.
"'It was wishful thinking on (the Democrats') part,' said Aaron McLear, a spokesman for Schwarzenegger. 'The governor said three weeks ago that he would veto
this budget, and they have sent to him the exact same
budget, which he had said he would veto.'
"The governor plans to reopen negotiations that would
include Democratic and Republican leaders of the Legislature,
McLear said."
Now that we've got that exercise over with, Darrell Steinberg and
Kevin Bass have an op-ed in the Bee.
"Next week we will vote on additional bills that are
even closer to the governor's requests. While we can't keep chasing the
governor's elusive goalposts, we can and will pass proposals
that reflect the compromise this crisis requires.
"We should be clear that like all of the governor's "stimulus" proposals, the additional bills we will pass do nothing
to resolve California's real and immediate emergency – the cash crisis. But the comprehensive, compromise
package of solutions now before the governor does.
"Schwarzenegger must put the cash crisis, as we have,
above all else. The state's small businesses and taxpayers deserve nothing less.
"If you look at the governor's record – whether it's AB 32 or the
infrastructure bonds – his success has come as a result of partnership
with
Democrats in the Legislature. The $18 billion budget deficit reduction
plan provides him
with yet another opportunity to be an effective partner.
By taking these key steps to address California's fiscal emergency, we
can show the people of California
that we can get their work done – and we can put more Californians to
work."
Meanwhile, some state contractors say their state payments are
being held up, and fear they are becoming the first
victims of the state's cash crunch. Capitol Weekly's John Howard reports: "State payments for more than three dozen public works
projects are being held up as the state grapples with
an unprecedented budget shortage, contractors say.
The stopped payments, some $33 million worth, mark the first time that money has
been withheld for voter-approved work and signal a delay on the state's planned infrastructure improvements.
"The Schwarzenegger administration has urged the regular
monthly payments to be made for road and highway projects
that receive funding from Proposition 1B. But it is ultimatley up to State Controller John
Chiang whether or not to cut the checks for the $33 million the state owes varios road and highway contractors.
"'We have processed those
invoices for payment. The question that has been raised
is will the controller make the payments,' Kempton said.
And the LAT's Jordan Rau and Evan Halper report: "State officials on Tuesday braced for the possibility of delaying tax refunds
to millions of Californians, along with student grants and payments to vendors,
as the latest round of budget negotiations between
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislators
collapsed.
"State Controller John Chiang has said that as early as Feb. 1, his office may begin issuing promissory notes if
lawmakers have not resolved the budget crisis. The
state has done this only once before since the Great
Depression -- in 1992.
"'We have not made any decision about deferring payments
or using IOUs, but they are possibilities if the governor
and Legislature don't come to some agreement soon,' Chiang spokeswoman Hallye Jordan said Tuesday.
"Under the state Constitution, schools and bondholders
get first rights to any cash in the state's coffers.
"Among the first to get IOUs instead of payments would
be business and individual taxpayers who are expecting
refunds, local governments and recipients of grants
from the California Student Aid Commission. Last year,
more than 10 million taxpayers received state refunds totaling
$8 billion."
Thank goodness we wait until April 15 to do our taxes.
The Bee's Dan Walters writes up a report issued by the Legislative
Analyst's Office about programs serving economically disadvantaged students
in California's K-12 schools.
"Increasing voter turnout in California's last three presidential elections can be attributed
in part to a huge increase in absentee voting, according to a Field Poll analysis of election data
released Tuesday," reports Dan Smith in the Bee.
"Here are the major findings of the analysis:
"• After nearly 40 years of decline, the percentage of registered Californians
casting ballots has increased in each of the last three
presidential elections. On Nov. 4, 79.4 percent of registered voters cast ballots, the highest
turnout since 1976.
"• The upward trend of voters casting ballots by mail
has accelerated. In 2000, 24.5 percent voted absentee, up from 20.2 percent in 1996. By 2004, 32.6 percent voted by mail, and 41.6 percent did so in the November election."
And it looks like absentee governing is also on the
rise...
In other GOTV news, "A new study of voting patterns on Proposition 8, the November ballot measure that would outlaw same-sex marriage, concludes that African American support, reported by
exit pollsters at 70 percent, was at least 10 percentage points lower," writes Dan Walters on Capitol Alert.
"The high reported support levels among black and Latino
voters for the measure, which won voter approval but
is now being challenged in court, led to post-election controversy and conclusions that non-white voters provided the margin of victory for Proposition
8.
"The new study, commissioned by the San Francisco-based Evelyn and Walter Hass Jr. Fund and released
by a consortium of gay rights groups, was conducted
by two New York college researchers. It concludes that
party affiliation, political ideology, frequency of
attending church and age "were the driving forces behind the measure's passage" rather than ethnicity."
"California officials have abandoned a legal fight over their bid to secretly
overhaul the state's execution method, a move that sends the issue back to square one and
leaves San Quentin's newly constructed execution chamber idled for the
foreseeable future," reports Howard Mintz in the Merc News.
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration decided not to appeal November's ruling by a state appeals court, which found that
prison officials failed to follow proper administrative
procedures when they attempted to revise California's lethal injection method without any public input.
State lawyers had until Dec. 31 to appeal to the state Supreme Court, but have decided
instead to follow the administrative rules and put
the execution plan through public review, likely including
public hearings.
"Deputy Attorney General Michael Quinn, who is handling the issue for the state, had no timetable
on the administrative hearings, saying officials are
now evaluating how to move forward. Brad Phillips, who represents two death row inmates in the case,
could not be reached for comment Tuesday."
And finally, from our Don't Squeeze the Charmin Files, "A man has smashed his way into an adult shop and had
sex with blow-up dolls before abandoning the sex toys in a nearby
lane. Business owners in Cairns believe the same culprit
is responsible for break-ins and till thefts at the Sapphire Bar
and three break-ins at the Laneway Adult Shop in recent days."
And then, we suppose, the reporter just couldn't resist this one. "His method of entry is to smash through walls and squeeze
through tight holes."
