After the weirdest
budget battle ever that included a veto of the entire package and an order from
the controller to dock lawmakers' pay, Gov. Jerry Brown quickly signed the 2011-12 state
budget.
From the LA Times'
Shane Goldmacher: "The governor enacted the $129-billion package,
with a general fund of $86-billion, in his Capitol office with little fanfare.
"This is an honest but painful budget," he said in a statement."
"The signing, attended by the Legislature's two Democratic leaders, also
marked the official concession that Brown had failed to deliver a bipartisan
spending plan. The same partisanship that had entangled his two predecessors
also ensnared Brown, despite all the "experience, knowledge and
know-how" he boasted of on the campaign trail last year."
"Democratic lawmakers passed the package earlier this week, using a new
voter-approved law that allowed them to do so with a simple majority vote. They
bridged the final $4 billion that remained of a more than $25-billion deficit
by assuming that an equivalent amount of unanticipated money will land in state
coffers. Tax revenue has far outpaced projections so far this year."
"If the extra money fails to materialize, the state will chop deeper into
social services, prisons, universities and courts, and possibly cut up to seven
days off the school year."
One thing about the
budget: The poor just got poorer, as benefits for welfare recipients
hit their lowest point in 20 years. The Bee's Cynthia
Hubert has the story.
"Beginning today,
monthly grants will be slashed by 8 percent, to an average of $460 for a family
of three. That translates to an income that is less than 30 percent of the
amount the federal government has determined is necessary to meet basic
needs."
"In addition, the
new budget reduces the lifetime limit on CalWORKs cash assistance for adults
from five years to four, and cuts funding for employment services
and child care. Advocates also are lamenting the suspension of the
Cal Learn program, which offers aid to pregnant and parenting teens in an
effort to keep them in school."
"Welfare officials
said the cuts will make it more difficult to accomplish the CalWORKs mission of
offering temporary cash aid, job training and other help to lift
people from public assistance to independence. Some 1.5 million Californians
get CalWORKs benefits."
Another group bracing
for the worst is the collection of new cities in the Inland Empire, where
the latest budget is expected to have a devastating impact.
From the
Press-Enterprise's Jim Miller and Sandra Stokley: "Gov. Jerry
Brown signed state budget legislation Thursday that Inland officials say
will gut the finances of California's newest cities, all of which are
inRiverside County: Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, Menifee and Wildomar."
"The bill, part of
an $86 billion general fund package passed by Democrats late Tuesday,
takes city vehicle license-fee revenue to help pay for local law-enforcement
grants. New cities receive extra license-fee money to get established and
officials said Thursday that its loss will force layoffs, insolvency or even
disincorporation."
"Lawmakers
representing the region, all Republicans, had scrambled to stop the
license-fee cut and sent a letter to Brown urging him to get the
Legislature to revamp it."
Legislation sponsored by state controller John Chiang is
getting short shrift in the Legislature, where angry lawmakers
are still smarting over his decision to dock their pay. The Bee's Paresh
Dave has the story.
"Five bills
sponsored by Chiang were killed by Assembly Democrats during the past week. The
moves highlight the tough crowd that Chiang faces in the Legislature after he
cost each rank-and-file lawmaker $4,830 during a 12-day pay block."
"Chiang's office
said he sponsored 15 bills in all this session. Six measures are dead, four are
scheduled for hearings next week, four are sitting in appropriations committees
and one is at the governor's desk."
"Four of the
measures killed during the past week, which addressed local government
finances, came in the wake of the scandal in the Southern California city of
Bell and could be brought back for consideration next year."
Meanwhile, out-of-state student enrollment is skyrocketing at UC
Berkeley, a function in part of California's budget woes. The
out-of-state students pay more. The Chronicle's Nanette Asimov tells the tale.
"The number of
out-of-state students is soaring at UC Berkeley, with new figures showing more
than a quarter of newcomers on campus - freshmen and transfer students - won't
be from California this year. That's up from 23 percent last year, and 15
percent two years ago."
"More important for
the campus, the nonresidents pay nearly three times the tuition of in-state
students, and will bring in $80 million this year, up from $54 million last
year, spokeswoman Janet Gilmore said."
"The trend is
similar throughout the University of California, although Berkeley far outpaces
other campuses in its zeal to bring in the lucrative outsiders."
