Posted on 06/26/2004 8:42:29 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Expectations dimmed Saturday that California would begin the new fiscal year with an approved budget for the first time in four years. Participants in a 90-minute closed-door meeting between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders said their negotiations went well, but added that it is unrealistic to hope a budget could be approved before the start of the new fiscal year Thursday.
There appear to be too many unresolved issues to clear away and still leave time for printing the massive $103 billion spending plan, sharing the document with lawmakers and then voting on it, officials said.
Rob Stutzman, Schwarzenegger's communications director, said while the governor is "disappointed" the deadline will be missed, he also understands the complexity of the process.
"He's disappointed that we are not going to be able to sign a budget on July 1," Stutzman told reporters. "Obviously that became in jeopardy when the Legislature missed its constitutional deadline on June 15.
"Having said all that, this was a very positive meeting," he said. "Progress is being made, issues are being identified and work will continue."
No new talks were scheduled but the governor and key lawmakers planned to remain in Sacramento throughout the weekend.
California has begun the fiscal year without a budget eight times in the last ten years. Two years ago the spending plan was a record 67 days late. Last year it was more than a month overdue.
Budget delays have helped drag down the state's credit ratings and were identified by many voters as a key frustration that led to the recall of former Gov. Gray Davis.
While the July 1 deadline may slip, none of the negotiators believe the budget will be more than a few days late. Negotiators left Saturday's meeting saying there were no major obstacles remaining, just a myriad of details that still need to be sorted out.
"It was a very good meeting," said Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles. "We are working on a framework of an agreement. There were no major obstacles today. Lots of positive conversation, but there's still a lot of issues on the table."
Dick Ackerman, the Senate Republican leader from Fullerton, said he expected it might be several more days before an agreement will be reached.
"All the major parties want to try to get a deal," he said. "I think we are trying to take care of various people's needs and I think it's going in a positive direction."
Still, Ackerman said there was no way a budget could be on the governor's desk by Wednesday or even Thursday.
No one in the meeting, called the Big Five because it is limited to the governor and the top four party leaders in the Legislature, would comment on any specifics. But the governor and lawmakers have been saying for much of the last week that two major issues dominate the talks - pension reform and local government financing.
Schwarzenegger has proposed cutting retirement benefits for new workers to save money. Democrats, who control both houses of the Legislature, say they will not agree to that proposal.
The governor also has an agreement with cities and counties that cuts state support for local services for two years in exchange for his support of a constitutional amendment that permanently protects them from future state raids. Democrats say they will support the cuts but want a new funding source for cities and counties, who have become too reliant on sales taxes that lead to poor land use decisions.
Democrats say they also want more money for state universities, a wage guarantee for home health care workers, a cost of living increase for welfare recipients, pension reforms and plans to restructure local government finances.
Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco, was perhaps most optimistic. "The staff is working on major issues to make sure that what we are agreeing to is actually agreeable," he said, adding that they had come to agreement on some issues.
Assembly Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield said the atmosphere in the meeting was very positive.
"All the individuals in the Big Five were very positive," he said. "I feel very good about it."
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On the Net:
http://www.governor.ca.gov/state/govsite/gov-homepage.jsp
Gov.'s Home Page
http://www.sen.ca.gov/
California Senate
http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/defaulttext.asp
California Assembly
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California State Budget Totals ($ Millions) Actual 2001-02: $96,200 Enacted 2003-04: $93,451 Arnold Proposal 2004-05: $103,xxx
It must just be growth in entitlements and federally mandated programs, no doubt, lol
These bobos on Sacramento still don't get it... The goose is dead. kaputt.. toast..
Yet they continue to propose to spend at rates that are not sustainable in today's economic conditions and maintain exorbitant pension expansion, without tax hikes that is, but not to without borrowing against the future. ;-)
The truly scary part of the budget is to look at how many expenses have been deferred to the future. The $103,000,000,000 is artificially LOW! Repayment of the bonds doesn't start for a couple of years, there were promises made for future increases in education, etc. 05-06 looks bad... 06-07 looks worse! We are going to be in some deep doo-doo unless we have a massive boom in the economy (which I don't think will happen). The economy has turned around... but we literally need a BOOM, not just growth.
Does churning farms into houses (after swiping the land from the owner) and then outsourcing food production to Mexico count?
I wasn't talking about Mexico's economy booming! LOL. I'm concerned about California's!
Hush! You're interfering with the sound of the waves! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I was referring to what some call "economic growth": an economy driven by construction to house immigrants and little else, with the real assets confiscated by regulation.
Ahhhhh, but we need affordable housing, right? /sarcasm
With "economic growth" like that, we all lose.
FYI, the SF Chron posted an article with some detail as to what the legislature and Arnold are still haggling over.
One by one, Arnold's lame cuts get whacked to the point of insignificance while future commitments continue to mount. No wonder he's so "popular," he isn't asking the State to deal with reality.
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