Free Republic

Sacramento, CA (AP) -- Republican lawmakers and anti-tax groups on Tuesday sued to block an $18 billion Democratic budget package, claiming it included tax increases that were not passed by the required two-thirds majority in the Legislature. The lawsuit was filed in the state's 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento and seeks an immediate injunction. Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, said the groups want to ensure that lawmakers don't try the same maneuver again. The budget bill, intended to close a widening state deficit, was passed last month by the Democratic-majority Legislature but has not...

Democratic legislators attempted Thursday to take a big bite out of the state's budget deficit by passing a complex, $18 billion mélange of legally uncertain spending cuts and new taxes, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger quickly doused it with the icy water of a veto threat. Schwarzenegger labeled portions of the 16-bill package as "bogus," but the parts he rejected related more to so-called "economic stimulus" than its budget-related provisions. He indicated that he could accept a revised version, even though Republican legislators and anti-tax groups denounced it as an unconstitutional money grab. However, legislative leaders said they don't intend to...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he will veto an $18 billion

But Republicans accused Democrats of subverting the will of voters and setting a historic precedent for raising taxes in California, calling the maneuver "stunningly cynical." They warned that Democrats would soon increase other fees to make up for budget shortfalls if they are successful in their majority-vote plan. "This is a very historic day," said Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill, of Modesto. "Certainly we've been a long time coming to this point where we have reached such frustration with the laws of this state, with the people and their will as it relates to how taxes should be raised, that...

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass said Thursday that she "could not imagine" that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would veto the Democrats' budget plan.