Posted on 07/05/2005 7:08:32 PM PDT by concentric circles
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders agreed Tuesday on a state budget that adds money for schools and road projects without resorting to the deficit spending that has plagued California in recent years.
``This is a terrific budget,'' the governor said. ``It's a budget that moves California forward.''
The agreement on the roughly $116 billion spending plan comes five days after the start of the new fiscal year and after a weekend of negotiations between the governor and leaders of both major parties.
Democratic Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez said Schwarzenegger had brought Republicans and Democrats together, forcing compromises from both sides.
Passing a balanced budget on time and avoiding the weeks of bitter partisan infighting that has marked past summer budget debates has been a priority for Schwarzenegger.
Democrats have likewise wanted to avoid a drawn-out budget battle in the months leading up to Swarzenegger's Nov. 8 special election. They earlier agreed to a budget that was similar to the $115.7 billion plan Schwarzenegger proposed in May, but legislative Republicans rejected it.
The two sides have been separated by about $1 billion in additional spending that Democrats wanted to put toward education and health care funding. Republicans have said the state cannot afford the extra spending, which they say would add to future debts.
The governor and Democrats have agreed to repay $1.2 billion owed to cities and counties a year early, reducing the debt in next year's budget.
It looks like the unions own Arnie, lock stock and barrel.
At best, he's only going to slow down the implosion by a year or two.
So a family of four in California can expect to pay $12,000 in STATE taxes. When you add in the 8%+ sales tax in Cal, PLUS all the other little hidden taxes, it's no wonder the state is broke.
You have no evidence for this. Hell, did you miss the teacher's union protesting his office in L.A. today? They want his head on a platter over his Nov reform proposals.
If there's no new borrowing, localities are repaid EARLY *and* no new taxes, I'd say that's a MAJOR step in the right direction.
We need those reforms. Got to support him or this state will truly be S.O.L. and the unions will be splitting the state up with the Mexican Reconquistas.
There's about ten billion in new borrowing in Arnold's restructuring iniative.
Not the least of which is whether enough Republican legislators agree (a two-thirds vote is needed).
The teachers unions would protest if you tried to lopp 30 seconds off their morning break. They's call it worse than trying to steal from children.
All I see in this deal is 13 Billon in PORK money.
I never received anything near $18,000 annually in value from the state government of California. Thankfully, I'm not being abused to support that socialist pest hole anymore.
"...The final budget closely resembles a compromise that majority Democrats offered nearly three weeks ago, after they dropped their fight for new taxes and $3 billion that local schools say they are owed..."
"...Assembly Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, said he expects enough members of his party to vote for it. Senate Minority Leader Dick Ackerman, R-Tustin, said he had the votes from his caucus even though Republicans didn't get everything they sought.
"Our main concern was overall spending, and this will move it up a bit," Ackerman said. "We did not get the structural reforms that we wanted and wanted a higher reduction of the deficit.
"But most of our guys are practical, and you've got to do what you can," he said. "We will have the votes that we need."
"...State coffers benefited this year from more than $4 billion in unanticipated tax income generated by a rebound in business activity, a break from the economic malaise of recent years."
"The extra money allowed lawmakers to provide the first increases in spending for some programs in many years while avoiding borrowing and accounting gimmicks to balance spending with income."
"...Among Democrats' leading concerns this year was preserving money for education."
"...Schwarzenegger said the agreement struck Tuesday funds public schools at the highest level in state history, increasing education spending by $3 billion. That increase goes beyond what schools would have received under the complex Proposition 98 funding formula, the governor's office said."
"Total education funding, including the amount spent on four-year higher education, is $61 billion, the largest single chunk of the state's annual budget. Under the deal, spending per pupil will rise to more than $10,000."
"The plan also dedicates $1.3 billion to transportation projects, fully funding Proposition 42. The 2002 voter initiative was supposed to dedicate a gas tax to road improvements, but the fund has been raided each year as the state's overall spending outpaced its revenue."
"Cities and counties will receive $1.2 billion owed them by the state, which was repaying the debt from local governments a year ahead of schedule. The budget also adds $20 million to an initiative Schwarzenegger announced earlier this year that improves job training for nursing, a profession that faces a shortage of nearly 48,000 nurses by 2010...."
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