California budget finally passed.

[tjwash]

Source: San Diego Union Tribune

State lawmakers pass long-awaited budget

SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers passed a long-awaited budget early Thursday morning after an epic battle that involved several all-night sessions and political concessions, sending the package to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was expected to sign it.

The budget deal flew through the Assembly less than an hour after it won approval by a single vote in the Senate after late-night horse trading to win over a final Republican.

The package included a combination of spending cuts, tax increases and borrowing, intended to close a projected $42 billion deficit and to stop a fast-arriving fiscal disaster for the state.

Senate leaders were able to secure the final vote needed from moderate Republican Abel Maldonado in late-night negotiations by agreeing to his demands for election changes, government reform and removal of a gas tax increase, giving them the two-thirds vote needed to pass the package.

Read more: http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/feb/19/ca-state-budget-021909/?zIndex=55342

[phantom power]

1. It's unbelievable to me that sanity was held hostage to those GOP nutjobs.

[Renew Deal]

2. The lesson from Maldonado, Specter, Collins, and others that play ball.

You have more power when you participate. Maldonado decided to play ball and got the things he wanted. That makes him more effective and more powerful. Same for Specter, Collins, etc.

[xchrom]

3. recommend

[slackmaster]

4. They managed to hurt just about everyone

Heckuva job, peoples.

[bonnieS]

5. what election changes?

[Mz Pip]

7. There will be

a measure placed on the ballot in June asking voters to approve an open primary system. This was the concession that Maldinado wanted in exchange for his vote. He seems to believe that a open primary will result in less extremist candidates ending up in the general election.

That's debatable but the voters will decide this in June.

[slackmaster]

9. Even if the primary system doesn't change, Proposition 11 will take effect in 2010

And it will affect the election of 2012.

All Assembly and Senate districts will be subject to drastic changes. If it works as intended, there will no longer be any "safe" seats for members of either party.

I can't see that as a bad thing.

[kestrel91316]

6. Well, a lot of people in CA, me included, are absolutely delighted that

the plan to charge sales tax on veterinary medical services went DOWN IN FLAMES. Yayyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!

We won. It's a good thing.

[kimmylavin]

8. Yeah, that one was nuts.

People already abandon animals because they can't afford vet bills.
Solution? Tack on more money. :eyes:

Granted, I'd pay anything for my pets (pretty much have), but some people just can't.
I'm glad this fell by the wayside...

[slackmaster]

10. I'm always OK with helping innocent animals

But this is one of the biggest middle-class tax increases in the history of the state.

[villager]

11. California legislature approves budget bill

Source: AP

California legislature approves budget bill

By JUDY LIN, Associated Press Writer

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California Legislature passed a long-awaited budget early Thursday after an epic battle that involved several all-night sessions, sending the governor a package of bills that raise taxes and cut spending to help close a $42 billion deficit.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, praised the bill, passed by the Democratic-controlled Senate and Assembly. He came out of his office after the budget vote and disconnected a large deficit clock counting the number of days — 106 as of Thursday — that the Legislature had failed to act since he declared a special session to deal with the state's fiscal problems.

"I'm absolutely delighted about the budget passing," Schwarzenegger said outside his office.

The budget deal flew through the Assembly less than an hour after it won approval by a single vote in the Senate after late-night horse trading to win over a final Republican vote. The vote marked the end of the Senate's longest session at 45.5 hours.

The package included a combination of spending cuts, tax increases and borrowing, intended to close a projected multibillion dollar deficit and avert fiscal disaster for the state.

<snip>

Senate leaders secured the final vote needed from moderate Republican Abel Maldonado in late-night negotiations by agreeing to his demands for election changes, government reform and removal of a gas tax increase, giving them the two-thirds vote needed to pass the package.

To win Maldonado's support, legislators also agreed to ask voters to revise the state's constitution to allow open primaries for legislative, congressional and gubernatorial elections. Leaders also met Maldonado's demands to freeze legislators' salaries in deficit budget years and to eliminate new office furniture budgeted for the state controller.

Republicans who broke from their party in passing the tax portion of the package harkened back to former Gov. Ronald Reagan's decision to pass tax increases during hard economic times.

"What would Ronald Reagan do? Ronald Reagan would vote yes," said Sen. Roy Ashburn of Bakersfield.

<snip>

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090219/ap_on_bi_ge/california_budget

[DeepBlueC]

12. ...election changes?!

what mischief is here, I wonder?

[kirby]

13. Open primaries, if I read it correctly...

I believe CA passed Prop 198 (open primaries) in 1996 which the US Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional in 2000.

[annabanana]

14. "open primaries"

That means that people can cross party lines and vote in each other's primaries?

[Xolodno]

15. Yeap!

That means moderate republicans may actually have a chance and throwing out die hards. Should be interesting to see.

[DeepBlueC]

18. also means Republican fundies can sabotage Democrats

with the LDS and other reactionary cash boxes at the ready this could be a bad thing. Haters are always more motivated to get out for the other guy's race. I know that some states do this though and I don't know exactly if it has had any profound effect. Opinions?

[radhika]

19. Hater & Anti-Taxers are strong here.

In recent elections, Party Discipline, Christian Fascism and the No-Tax-No-Way ideologues are strong and committed. Even politically active Californians likely know more about federal and internation matters than their own home turf. California is in deep, deep s*(t.

[stopbush]

20. It also means that a stealth D could enter the R primaries and

win, giving CA the choice of two Ds running for the same position.

[damntexdem]

16. So the broccoli grower got what he wanted.

Undemocratic, super-majority rules give unwarrented power to opportunist members of the minority party.

[kimmylavin]

17. And included is the hallmark of this administration...

A special election!

"In addition to raising taxes, cutting programs and borrowing, the proposal before the Legislature would send five ballot measures to voters in a special election to be held May 19: a spending cap that was sought by Republicans; a plan to sell bonds based on future lottery proceeds; and approval to shift money from accounts for mental health and child-development programs."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gVKofKbtJ2gCh_9py0AYsipjglpAD96EMGP80

Because we just can't get enough of those...

[villager]

21. Among the cuts:

Cuts

Reduces state general fund spending by $15.1 billion through the end of June 2010 by forcing education and social service programs to absorb much of the pain. Among other cuts, the budget proposal:

– Reduces education spending by $8.6 billion over two years, likely forcing schools to lay off teachers, slash salaries and postpone spending on construction and textbook purchases. The proposal also would give districts greater flexibility in spending money that is normally dedicated to specific programs.

– Imposes a 10 percent across-the-board cut to the University of California and California State University systems, saving $264.4 million.

– Continues furloughs for 238,000 state workers, trims overtime pay and eliminates Lincoln's Birthday and Columbus Day as paid state holidays, saving $1.4 billion. The furloughs would be reduced from two days a month to one and workers would receive two personal days off in exchange for giving up the paid holidays under a tentative contract agreement reached recently between the governor and the state's largest employee union.

– Eliminates annual cost-of-living increases for recipients of the state's welfare-to-work program, known as CalWORKS, to save $79 million.

– Eliminates the state and federal cost-of-living increase for seniors and the disabled who are receiving Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment, saving $594.1 million.

– Depending on whether the federal government provides additional aid, the budget compromise would make further reductions to Medi-Cal, the state's health insurance program for the poor; CalWORKS; in-home support for seniors; and other social service programs by $948 million.

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/feb/19/ca-state-budget-glance-021909/?zIndex=55442

– Eliminates $1 million that was allocated for the state controller's office to buy furniture as one of the conditions for securing the last GOP vote.

[Big_Mike]

22. My problem with the schools is

that although, according to the Census Bureau, student population has declined each of the past 5 years, we continue to build schools in districts that have fewer students, while those few school districts that have an increase in student population don't get any construction. 10 years ago, those schools were required, but since all the EIRs and everything else was completed, the population is shrinking and the new building goes on and on.

One thing that I really hate is the misrepresentation of the sales tax hike. It has been addressed as a "One Cent" increase. While this is accurate, it is misleading. The increase was actually 12.43% (7.75% to 8.75%, or more accurately per dollar).

According to the calculator on the Sacramento Bee website (http://www.sacbee.com/1098/story/1627728.html) a family of 4 earning the median income of $74,801 with a $20,000 car will have an increase in state income tax of $813. So much for the stimulus bill's $800 for a married couple. Plus that family gets to pay the additional $814 each year for another 4 years after that. We have effectively a 9.3% unemployment rate, with 78,000 jobs lost in December, according to the Bureau of Labor statistics (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm).

In a recession like this, how are we supposed to recover when the taxes go up like this? When that idiot Pete Wilson did the same thing to California in the 90s, it caused California to take two additional years to recover after the rest of the country did. How do you get different results when you do the same exact thing? Reagan run up huge deficits with federal spending, tax cuts, and huge military spending. Bush did the exact same. Now we have an even bigger deficit. It didn't change at the federal level, and won't at the state level.

I think we should find some decent forensic accountant and elect him to be the governor. Have a CPA become Controller, and work out this mess. How are my kids supposed to find jobs if this idiocy continues?