Free Republic

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A delicate budget fix crafted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders was on the brink of collapse early Wednesday after Republicans in the Senate ousted their leader. The late-night coup could derail already strained budget talks by requiring them to renegotiate with a new Republican leader. The current package containing billions in tax hikes, spending cuts and borrowing took leaders more than three months to put together as the state tries to pass a midyear budget fix and avoid fiscal calamity. Lawmakers viewed the leadership change as a major setback after they fell short by...

SACRAMENTO – Seven years of deficits have left the state budget so far out of balance that a Republican legislative leader is saying that closing a huge budget gap with cuts alone is unworkable. Senate Republican leader Dave Cogdill of Modesto said he remains staunchly opposed to tax increases and is now proposing that the state borrow – possibly from funds for local government, transportation and other programs – and quickly repay the loans with money from bonds backed by the lottery. “What we would like to do is see the state get its spending in line with its revenue,”...

He accused GOP lawmakers of continuing to withhold their votes, even after all their demands related to the budget had been met, in hopes of extracting other policy concessions. "All of a sudden, now we've got to work on this, we've got to work on that," Schwarzenegger said. "So they are adding things. We say today, don't keep adding things. You are hurting people. People in California are suffering. Lay off. Pass the budget." Though Schwarzenegger didn't mention Cogdill by name, he did single out Cogdill's fellow GOP holdout, Sen. Jeff Denham, a Republican whose district includes nearby Merced. Denham,...