Copyright© 2007 by School Services of California, Inc.

                                      Volume 20                   For Publication Date: August 3, 2007             No. 17

Senate Budget Logjam Continues

We are now 27 days into the new fiscal year and still there is no Budget in place for 2007-08. Thus far, actions to end the stalemate have not been successful.  

Less than a week ago, after a lengthy 19-hour marathon session, Senator Perata directed the Senate Republican caucus, led by Senator Ackerman (R-Tustin), to deliver a Budget plan that would receive the support of all 15 members of the caucus. To facilitate development of this plan, session was adjourned until Wednesday, July 25, 2007, when Senator Perata indicated that the proposal by the Senate Republicans still wasn’t ready. As a result, vote on the Republican plan was subsequently delayed until Thursday, July 26. 

With leaders on both sides recognizing that any vote would be futile and would not facilitate negotiations, no vote was taken on the Republican plan, and Senators Perata and Ackerman re-engaged negotiations Thursday morning, with hopes of breaking the logjam. 

Stepping into the fray to help diffuse tensions was Governor Schwarzenegger, who, late Thursday, held his first press conference on the Budget since the deadline was missed almost four weeks ago. He stressed the importance of enacting a State Budget now to protect Californians and offered to facilitate the negotiations by using his line item veto authority. He specifically stated that vendors, including those who provide parts and services to the state’s fire suppression aircraft, will stop their work until a Budget is passed.  

Also observed were individual Republican Senators being summoned down to the Governor’s Office. While details of conversations between the Senators and the Governor (or his staff) are not known, one can safely surmise that the Administration is trying to persuade the Senators to support the Budget.  

As pressure to approve a Budget continues to mount, the pro Tem has placed all Senators on call and ordered them to remain within one hour of the Capitol. Additionally, the Senate will not facilitate any travel arrangements or provide trips to the airport until this call is lifted.  

Should the Senate come to agreement on a proposal that is different than what the Assembly approved last week, the Senate-approved plan would still have to be approved by the Assembly before it could go to the Governor to be signed. There’s a slight problem with this though; after adopting the Assembly Budget last Friday (July 20), the Assembly adjourned for its summer recess and is not scheduled to return until late August. Conceivably, the Assembly could convene for one day to vote on the Senate plan. However, a spokesperson for the Speaker of the Assembly has indicated that the Assembly will not be back before the end of summer recess (August 20). 

The Senate Republican Plan 

The Senate Republican plan proposes to cut more than $840 million dollars in ongoing spending to help bring California’s revenues in line with its expenditures. 

Two key aspects of the proposal are the reinstatement of the Governor’s January proposal to cut CalWORKs payments for those recipients not in compliance with program requirements and a limitation on the Attorney General’s ability to sue local governments on global warming and emissions issues until the Air Resources Board develops regulations in 2012 governing greenhouse gas emissions. 

             —Dave Heckler and Nancy LaCasse