Budget Irony: Four Reasons the Senate Republicans Budget Blockade Doesn't Add Up

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Senate Republicans have spent the last month holding up the state budget. And there are four points the Republicans feed the press: they want a balanced budget, they want to reduce the structural deficit, they want the sales tax on gases to go to highways, and they want to protect transportation. But a closer look at the Republican rhetoric shows that it doesn't match up with the facts. Here are the four main issues -- and the facts that skewer their claims.
 
Balanced Budget Argument -- The Senate Republicans say there is a "Constitutional" requirement to have no structural deficit, but the budget before the Senate far and away meets the balanced budget requirement of Proposition 58, which the Republicans, the Governor, and the Chamber of Commerce put before the voters just 3 ½ years ago.  

• Prior to the Republican lead budget reforms of Proposition 58, there was no Constitutional requirement for the Legislature to pass a balanced budget.
• The California Chamber of Commerce backed requirement simply states that projected General Fund expenditures must be less than projected available General Fund resources.
• Had the Republicans wanted there to be a stricter requirement, that the expenditures not exceed revenues collected during the same fiscal year (their definition of structural balance), then why didn't they write Proposition 58 to say that? It's not as if Proposition 58 was passed decades ago, and times have changed. In fact, 10 out of the current 15 GOP State Senators voted in favor of ACAX5 5, (which became Proposition 58) less than 4 years ago:
• Senator Ackerman
• Senator Ashburn
• Senator Battin
• Senator Cogdill (as Assemblymember)
• Senator Cox (as Assemblymember)
• Senator Dutton (as Assemblymember)
• Senator Harmon (as Assemblymember)
• Senator Hollingsworth
• Senator Maldonado (as Assemblymember)
• Senator Wyland (as Assemblymember)
• Since the passage of the balanced budget requirement, the budget has passed with bipartisan support with reserves of: $768 million (04-05); $1.3 billion (05-06); and $2.1 billion (06-07). The projected reserve of $3.4 billion for 07-08 once again is in accordance with the Constitutional requirements of Proposition 58.

Structural Deficit Argument -- Once tax cuts are off the table, and once major cuts to education, health and human services, and public transit have been agreed to, the Senate Republicans move the discussion to "eliminating the 'Structural Deficit.'" But the budget now before the Senate has the smallest projected structural deficit since Schwarzenegger has become Governor. Senate Republicans have consistently voted for budgets with larger structural deficits.

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