Final cut

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a 27-bill budget-balancing package Tuesday, but only after making another $489 million in spending cuts  and likening the experience to "the good, the bad and the ugly."

The state's general fund spending will amount to $85 billion, including the reserve. That's a 7.2 percent drop from spending in the last fiscal year, and a whopping 17 percent less than two years ago.

More cuts came yesterday to make up for the Legislature's failure to pass a plan to cut local gas tax revenues and approve new oil drilling measures. Together, those proposals would have brought in more than $1 billion to state coffers. 

The Chron's Wyatt Buchanan reports,  "Among the largest new cuts is nearly $80 million for child welfare services, which administration officials said would mean fewer social workers available to investigate reports of child abuse or supervise those investigations. In total, child welfare services and foster care were cut $121 million.

Already, Democrats are suggesting the new cuts may be ilegal, bringing an auspicious start to the next round of budget talks, which should be starting up again some time before the new year, if we were taking bets. 

Buchanan reports, " Most of the governor's new cuts were made to parts of the plan that Democrats believe were not subject to line-item vetoes.

"We question whether the majority of these vetoes are legal," said state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento. Steinberg vowed to restore all the governor's cuts, saying: "This is not the last word."

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Baldwin Vista (Los Angeles County), also challenged Schwarzenegger's actions, saying in a written statement that he "appears willing to break the law" to make the cuts. She said she would seek legal counsel on the legitimacy of Schwarzenegger's vetoes.

"The governor's actions today have not just caused harm; his actions today put lives in jeopardy," Bass said.

E.J. Schultz reports parks and farmland preservation also took a hit.

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday eliminated state support for a farmland preservation program that is heavily used in the Valley -- a move that could force counties to make more budget cuts.

Funding for the Williamson Act was one of 21 vetoes the governor announced in order to bring the state's 2009-10 budget back into balance after the Legislature last week passed a plan that was slightly in the red.

The governor also sliced $6.2 million from the state parks budget. The cut, on top of the $8 million hit that parks took last week, could result in the closure of as many as 100 of the state's 279 parks -- but not until after Labor Day, officials said.

The Media News political team says Schwarzenegger almost seemed to like making the cuts.

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger seemed to relish the task of reining in government spending, almost as if it was another cinematic role in which to star.

With gusto, he launched blistering attacks against fraud in the welfare system, demanding that those abusing the system be kicked out. He unwaveringly stood his ground on taxes, never allowing Democrats to seriously consider including them in negotiations. And he proclaimed himself the guardian of responsible, frugal government.

"It didn't seem to matter to Schwarzenegger that fraud in the system was minuscule compared with other soaring costs; or that voters actually favored taxes on oil companies, alcoholic beverages and tobacco products; or that he'd previously increased state spending by tens of billions of dollars after coming to office in 2003.

"Schwarzenegger the Terminator was back, even flashing an oversize knife while smiling broadly and talking about cutting government spending in a YouTube video aired just before he and the four legislative leaders came to an agreement on paring the general fund budget to $84 billion — down from more than $100 billion a year ago.

Dan Walters writes the current plan already leaves a big fiscal hole for next year.

"Even Schwarzenegger, who usually puts a positive spin on events, was subdued, reminding reporters that "we are not out of the troubled waters yet" and pledging that "if our revenues drop further, (we will) make the necessary cuts in order to again live within our means."

"Even if all the spending cuts and gimmicks work exactly as planned, even if this year's revenue meets expectations, and even assuming the economy begins to recover in 2010, the administration now projects a 2010-11 deficit of $7 billion to $8 billion.

"But given the track record on such projections, the likelihood that many of the current assumptions will prove wrong and a strong possibility of continued recession, a deficit in the $20 billion range for Schwarzenegger's final budget would seem to be more realistic.

"California is, indeed, sailing in troubled waters."

The LA Times' Jeff Gotlieb reports Laura Richardson is now the subject of a Congressional ethics investigation.

"Rep. Laura Richardson’s rundown Sacramento house, which became the scourge of the neighborhood and a sore point with an investor who thought he’d bought it out of foreclosure, is now the subject of a House ethics investigation.

"The Office of Congressional Ethics contacted real estate investor James York, who bought Richardson’s house at a foreclosure auction last year only to have Washington Mutual take it back after he had recorded the deed.

"The office also has interviewed at least two of the Long Beach Democrat’s Sacramento neighbors, asking about their efforts -- and costs -- in tidying up the yard of Richardson’s two-story house. The city declared the house a public nuisance on one occasion and “blighted” on another.

And it looks like the end of an era may be coming in Los Angeles. 

The LAT's Bill Plashke reports, "Vin Scully, thought to be retiring this winter after 60 seasons, said this week he is planning on coming back for one more summer.

Scully, 81, said if he continues to feel well he will work past his landmark year and retire after the 2010 season.

"God willing, I will probably come back for one more year," Scully said in a phone interview. "At this moment, my health is excellent, and I'm leaning toward one more year."

And then retire?

"Yes, that makes sense," he said.