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The Governator Wins NoTax Increase / No Deficit Budget
Willie Brown has met his match and gone down in flames.With uncharacteristic dispatch, the state Legislature approved California's $117.5 billion budget on Thursday, sending Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger the same agreement he struck earlier this week with legislative leaders. The vote was 64-13 in the Assembly and 34-4 in the Senate, a show of support far greater than the two-thirds vote required for passage in both houses. The governor is expected to sign the spending plan early next week. It would mark the earliest date California has approved a budget in five years. The compromise spending plan _ negotiated by Schwarzenegger and leaders from both parties over the Fourth of July weekend _ achieves the governor's goals of avoiding tax increases and deficit spending for the fiscal year that began Friday. "The leadership came through and delivered what they had discussed with the governor in the Big Five," Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Margita Thompson said, referring to meetings between the governor and the four leaders of the Assembly and Senate. The budget provides $3 billion more for schools and brings total education spending, including higher education, to $61 billion, a record for the state. An unexpected infusion of about $4 billion from the improving state economy also allowed the state to spend $1.3 billion on road and transportation projects, return $1.2 billion to city and county governments and pay down some of its debt. The budget also reduces the expected state deficit in the 2006-07 fiscal year from $15 billion to $4.7 billion. "This is a very good first step," said Republican Kevin McCarthy, the Assembly's minority leader. "This is the right step, the right direction, but let's keep the movement going forward." Economists and fiscal analysts warn that future shortfalls are likely to continue until a long-term fix is found. The state's persistent fiscal imbalance is a result of generous spending by lawmakers in recent years and complex funding formulas that lock in spending increases each year. The absence of a prolonged budget battle this year frees Schwarzenegger and Democratic leaders to focus on compromises to initiatives on a November special election ballot. The GOP governor is seeking through initiatives to cap state spending, change how legislative districts are drawn and extend the time it takes teachers to get tenure from two years to five. Schwarzenegger and the majority Democrats have been mindful of growing voter disenchantment with their job performance, pushing both sides to show they can work together. It's AP, so the closer was pre-fated to be a swipe. Posted by: .com 2005-07-08 |
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