Posted on 12/12/2003 6:21:06 AM PST by NormsRevenge
Edited on 04/12/2004 6:02:03 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
The Assembly overwhelmingly ratified a budget compromise with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday to seek voter approval March 2 for a $15 billion bond and a beefed-up rainy-day reserve.
The deal won't end the state's budget woes. But it does give the new administration some wiggle room to come up with solutions and, some lawmakers said, represents a shift from partisan gridlock of the past two years.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Friday, December 12, 2003 Budget plan advances
SACRAMENTO A budget package largely crafted by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic leaders of the Legislature passed the Assembly late Thursday. The proposal would require the Legislature and governor to adopt and follow a balanced budget and requires a reserve for bad economic times. "This is a good, common-sense measure," said Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento. "It does not solve our budget problems, but if we follow the process that led to this agreement, we will solve our problems." The vote on the spending plan was 76-0. Schwarzenegger issued a statement saying it would "prevent us from facing such a disastrous fiscal crisis again." A $15 billion borrowing plan the governor proposed to close the state's deficit passed 65-13. "The spending limit is a step in the right direction. However, I have concerns about how strong it is. That's why I wasn't willing to place the state into further debt," said Assemblyman Ken Maddox, R-Dana Point, who voted no on the borrowing. If the proposals are approved by the Senate, the measures will go on the March ballot. "Let no one think this is a spending cap," said Republican Leader Dave Cox of Fair Oaks. "It is a bill that is better than what is currently in force but it will not restrain spending." |
Assembly Republicans pace the sidelines
Friday, December 12, 2003 Assembly Republicans pace the sidelines
The Orange County Register
SACRAMENTO When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called off negotiations for a limit on spending last week, he told Assembly Republicans that the other party was "addicted to spending." Five days later, with a downgrade from a Wall Street rating agency, protests from people with the developmental disabilities, and demonstrations from educators who feared budget cuts, Democratic Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson emerged from the governor's office hinting at a deal. That deal turned out to be virtually the same one Democrats pitched the previous week and that Republicans - including the governor - had rejected. The restrictive limit on spending they thought they were fighting for - and the governor said he wanted - wasn't there. Local governments, which Schwarzenegger said would not suffer as a result of the vehicle license fee rollback, were suffering. Republicans nevertheless joined in a unanimous vote for the initiative Thursday, including a simple balanced-budget requirement instead of strict spending caps. What happened? "Most people are willing to give the governor plenty of slack on this situation because of the difficulty of the problem and how much stuff is going on," said Assemblyman John Campbell, R-Irvine, who initially was one of four Republicans to reject the budget deal, but minutes later changed his vote to a yes. "If he didn't talk to us as much as we would have liked, it's not because he was excluding us on purpose," Campbell said. Republicans on Thursday wavered in their support of the package, but in the end they stood by Schwarzenegger after he called them in groups of fours down to his office to persuade them to vote for this package. "They obviously want to support the new governor. What we see is the potential to create a new dynamic in California. Republicans over the past several years have had it easy in simply saying no. Now with the new dynamic, it's important that they get engaged in the nitty gritty of the debate to try and help find middle ground," said Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, one of the key negotiators of the budget deal. Under Gov. Gray Davis' administration, Republicans were often left out of negotiations. The Democrat majority often peeled off the bare minimum of votes on the budget, and the remaining Republicans would give grand speeches disavowing the plans. Then came Schwarzenegger, promising to end "politics as usual." His election was a clear signal from the voters that partisan strife of the Davis era had to end. Democrats laid low. Fearing they were next, they quickly passed a repeal of a law that would have given illegal immigrants the right to drive. Republicans felt emboldened. To them, it was a chance to get a like-minded leader in a position strong enough to balance out the Democratic majority in the Legislature. And with a bipartisan mandate from voters, there was an expectation that more than just a few Republicans would vote on substantive legislation and be in on negotiations. Then came this week. "All of the sudden, this appeared," Assemblywoman Patricia Bates, R-Laguna Niguel, said of the Democrat- brokered budget deal. "I need a lot more detail, a lot more protection, to be in there for me to support it." She abstained on the budget plan. And she joined Assemblyman Ken Maddox, R-Dana Point, and John Campbell, R-Irvine, in voting against the bond. Many Republicans were angling for money to ensure that local governments such as Laguna Woods don't wither due to lost revenue. But Bates also wants to know if a more stringent limit on spending will be in the works for the November ballot. "There is definitely disappointment in a number of members not having been involved," Bates said. Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Orange, earlier Thursday gave blistering criticisms of the governor's tactics to anyone who would listen. Spitzer's highest concern was the lost local-government money. "There's a tremendous amount of frustration in the Republican caucus because the governor is not fulfilling promises that he made publicly," Spitzer said. "The governor is putting Republicans in a position where we have to criticize him or be less than truthful in our feelings. And we don't want to do either, but he has to keep his promises." But after his meeting with Schwarzenegger, where the two were eye-to-eye, Spitzer said he received the assurance he needed from the governor to vote for the package. What assurances? Schwarzenegger promised a tour of the state to rile voters to apply pressure to lawmakers to replenish money to local governments. |
Friday, December 12, 2003 Voices
Orange County voters who supported Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger expressed some skepticism Thursday about the emerging! budget deal in Sacramento: |
Give 'em Hell!!!
That is the way I see it also!
Slows the Demoncrats down for now and we need to do a better job of getting more representation in the Legislature!.
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