After a sometimes bitter three-week delay, California legislators appeared on Monday to have reached a deal with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on a $103 billion budget, officials said.
"There could well be a deal today," State Senate President Pro Tempore John Burton, a Democrat, told Reuters. "I would not put my children and my grandchildren's life on it, but I'd probably put $5,000 on it."
An evening meeting is planned to discuss the new budget. Negotiations had stalled earlier this month, with an angry Republican Schwarzenegger calling Democrats "girlie men" for not backing his spending plan and for not meeting the July 1 deadline.
As in most recent years, California's legislature has not delivered a new fiscal year budget by the deadline. Schwarzenegger, who had vowed to end business as usual in Sacramento during his election campaign last year, had promised to meet the July 1 date for a new spending plan.
Negotiations had stalled over funding to local governments, which Burton said had now been resolved with an agreement requiring a two-thirds legislature vote to suspend the deal in the future or change how much the state government gets in local taxes.
"The local government thing was agreed to with two-thirds votes on suspension (of the deal) and constitutional protection of the sales tax and two-thirds vote to reallocate property tax," said Burton, who appeared relaxed as he sat at an outdoor cafe near the capitol on a hot sunny day. "These are the elements of the local government agreement."
EVENING MEETING PLANNED
Schwarzenegger was due to meet Democratic and Republican leaders of the State Senate and Assembly to go over the deal on Monday evening, his office said.
California Democratic legislators who had traveled to Boston for the Democratic Party presidential nomination were being asked to return to Sacramento by Tuesday, a legislative aide in the speaker's office added.
It would probably take a day or two beyond that for legislators to vote on a budget, which would have to be printed, distributed and read before passage, officials said.
Republicans and Democrats were also divided over the issues of what services public schools can outsource and a law that expands the rights of workers to sue their employers.
Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman said legislators had worked out an agreement that would change legislation on workplace lawsuits passed last year.
"There was give and take from both sides that resulted in a fair compromise that will deter the filing of frivolous lawsuits under this act," Ackerman said in a statement.
Earlier, the state's chief financial officer said without a budget California would be unable to make half a billion dollars of state payments starting Wednesday because of the budget impasse but should avoid any further Wall Street downgrades.
"I don't anticipate any downgrade or changes in the bonds," State Controller Steve Westly told a news conference. "California's economy is still fundamentally robust."
"Revenues to the state are up ten percent over last year. That is a great piece of news, frankly, for any company or any state government."
It looks like Ahnold's "girly-man comments" have had it's intended effect.
All they have done is buy some time,, yet allowed all the social program spending instituted the last few years to stay in place, illegals still get benefits and may get Driver's Licenses as well..
Some progress.. we'll see.
I heard the call on the radio "All girlymen return to California"
LA County is still putting the sales tax increase on the ballot. They haven't stopped spending anything.