We are now further into the year than California has ever been without some sort of budget agreement. The previous record was August 31st (set in 2002), and this is one record no one should be proud of breaking.
State Controller John Chiang has said he will be unable to make $7.6 billion in payments in September if a state budget is not approved this month. Among September bills that would go unpaid are $3 billion for Medi-Cal, $1.1 billion for K-12 schools, $709.3 million for mental health, and $874.2 million for other social service programs.
Governor Schwarzenegger has taken state lawmakers to task for their inability to establish a workable budget agreement.
Schwarzenegger made a plea for a reasonable compromise, saying:
"We have seen already the Democrats introduce their budget. They're asking for a tax increase of $10 billion. That was voted down. Then you have the Republicans who are now doing their budget even though it is 2 1/2 months late. And it relies on borrowing. That won't work and it will be voted down."
Republican legislators have chosen to attend the RNC despite the fact that the Republican budget proposal is 2 1/2 months overdue and unlikely to be finalized until Friday. They claim that their proposal is responsible and will balance the budget, although it cuts $5.5 billion dollars from education, $1.5 billion from safety net programs for the state’s most vulnerable people, and includes $2 billion dollars in borrowing, while still leaving the state with deficits for years to come.
Meanwhile, state legislators continue collecting their $170/day per diems while their legislative houses remain in session. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass was brave enough to cancel sessions, meaning that Assemblymembers will not receive their per diems for this week, but the state Senate remains in session, even though they are meeting for half an hour or less each day. A backlash against the politicians holding up the budget seems to be brewing. The Budget Blog has a post naming the seven legislators most responsible for the current budget fiasco.
Since Schwarzenegger will not sign any bills until the budget crisis is resolved, and has only until September 30th to sign or veto bills, there is likely to be a last-minute rush, and many good bills could get lost in the process.
Read more of our analysis of the California state budget crisis and other economic issues.
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