California misses budget deadline – again

The California Legislature failed this year to approve the state budget by the July 1 deadline. It’s the seventh time it’s happened in a decade, but this year the battle is heating up online.

Democrats reportedly want to help close a record $15.2 billion shortfall by raising taxes up to $11.5 billion. The Republican position is focused on reducing state spending, which could result in severe cuts to state-funded programs and departments. Both parties are using Web sites to stake out their positions.

“We have launched this Web campaign to show that children, homeowners and seniors are not merely ‘tax loopholes,’ as claimed by some,” said Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines, R-Fresno, said in a prepared statement. “It is unfortunate that my Democrat colleagues cannot see that our state’s spending problems will continue budget year after budget year – unless we enact sensible budget reforms and begin the difficult task of long-term fiscal planning.”

The Democrats fire back on their Web sites, including this excerpt from a July 9 statement by Assembly Budget Chair John Laird, D-Santa Cruz.

“Legislative Democrats have proposed a balanced and compassionate budget that fixes California’s budget problem and restores draconian cuts the governor proposed for education, healthcare and transit,” Laird wrote. “This is a compromise budget that includes a responsible mix of cuts and revenue increases…. The alternative is a cuts-only budget that keeps deficits going into the future, and closes a $15 billion budget gap on the backs of school kids, transit riders, and those who need services provided by health clinics.”

Dollars and cents

The Assembly Democrats’ budget proposal, released June 5, urged raising $6.4 billion by scrapping tax loopholes and breaks and employing short-term financial moves previously used by state officials. The lawmakers detail $102.2 billion in spending for the next fiscal year, compared with the $101.8 billion proposed last month by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

As the two parties squabble over the budget, institutions and state-funded programs must find ways to keep afloat until a budget is approved. The fight itself will burden California’s taxpayers hundreds of millions in extra interest payments if the standoff continues into the end of summer.

According to Villines, the state’s spending habits have increased at an astounding rate – growing by almost 58 percent, from $66 billion per year in 2000 to $104 billion this year.

“California’s current deficit of $17.2 billion, for comparison, is larger than all the revenues of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa combined,” Villines said.

War of words

Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, who represents the Second Assembly District, which includes Glenn County, said the Democrats’ proposed budget is also an attack on local law enforcement.

“I’m appalled that rather than take a hard look at state spending, Democrats in Sacramento would prefer to raise taxes on California’s families and cut public safety programs at the same time,” LaMalfa stated. “Public safety is the number one priority of government, and we won’t allow the safety of Californians to be held hostage in exchange for even more liberal spending and taxes, especially in the current economy.”

Republicans say they hope to address these problems by putting a cap on the budget, and requiring the governor’s office to publish an estimate of the condition of the state’s general fund for the upcoming year.

LaMalfa said Assembly Republicans will continue to fight to protect California families and sensible budget reform without resorting to piecemeal attempts at solutions, higher taxes, and the potential for even larger deficits in the coming years.

On the other hand, Democratic leaders, saying they had already agreed to billions of dollars in spending reductions, declared a “line in the sand” against further budget cuts.

“From our standpoint, we’ve gone more than halfway,” said state Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny, D-San Diego, the budget panel chairwoman. “You can’t have schools close and health clinics shutting down.”

State lawmakers are taking the budget battle online. 

Here’s where to look:

• Assembly Democrats
http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/issues/budget/

• Assembly Republicans
http://republican.assembly.ca.gov/loopholes/

• Senate Democrats
http://democrats.sen.ca.gov/
Click on “California’s budget.”

• Senate Republicans
http://cssrc.us/web/96/

Contact Julie R. Johnson at 824-5464 or jjohnson@tcnpress.com.