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California legislators prepare for another frantic day of working on the budget The California Constitution mandates that a budget be passed by June 15 of each year. The legislature finally did pass the budget on March 17, 2011, a mere nine months late, but still has not acted on how to fund it. Specifically, [...] Let’s recap, shall we? Jerry Brown swept into office with bold plans to clean up the Augean Stables that State of California finances have become. He planned to put a number of measures before voters, and if approved, would use them as a mandate to slay the Budget Demon. Surely then the Golden Days [...] media.photobucket.com Gov. Brown’s “concessions” from public unions have, as usual in the convoluted, interminable, and deeply opaque process by which California eventually stumbles to a budget agreement, turned out to be less of a cut than what state employees are experiencing under their current expired contract. But since it’s less than what they would [...] (My latest for CAIVN, the California Independent Voter Network)) Not only are there no good options for passing a budget before the money runs out, there aren’t even any bad options. As too often happens, negotiations and machinations over the budget could go on for many more months before an agreement is reached. The state [...] The financial implosion at CalPERS, the giant California public pension fund, is now directly impacting municipalities. The city of Costa Mesa recently voted to send pink slips to 203 out of 472 of its full-time employees, warning them that they could lose their jobs within six months. The city plans to outsource the jobs to [...] The Kabuki Theater that is the California budget crisis continues. Republicans ask for the moon, then perhaps unknowingly use a classic Saul Alinsky tactic, while Gov. Brown freezes state hiring except for his staff and whomever else he might want to exempt. On Feb. 15, California Republican legislators demanded Gov. Brown enact his $12 [...] The train wreck that is the California budget negotiation continues. If Gov. Brown doesn’t get the special election or the measures don’t pass, then things will get very dire indeed.Crossposted from CAIVN. The California legislature must agree by a two-thirds vote to hold the June 8 special election that is essential to Gov. [...] At League of California Cities luncheon last week, Gov. Brown harrumphed that this was no time for “turf wars,” telling attendees they needed to deep-six their “narrow perspectives.” All of this might have sounded lofty and high-minded, as the governor explained the current budget shortfall, except that it was his very own proposed budget [...] The budget proposes to offload state responsibilities like public safety and health services onto local governments, funding them for five years with money raised if voters approve the extension of tax hikes in June. This would include eliminating the California Division of Juvenile Justice. Local governments would be expected to house and manage the [...] During Governor Brown’s press conference Monday, he was asked what would happen if voters reject the continuation of taxes set to expire this year. He replied, take all the budget cuts we’re making now and multiply by 2. Ouch. The cuts he announced are already severe and draconian. They are across the board, and [...] |  | ||||
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