Republican's Budget Plan Revealed!

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

It may have gone virtually unnoticed, but Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman revealed the Republican plan to balance the budget on "Which Way L.A." His solution? "Roll back" to the 2004-05 state budget. 
 
Simple enough. 
 
So here are a couple of key highlights of the Republican budget plan:

• Suspend Proposition 42. Proposition 42 was suspended in 2004-05, so any plan to roll back to that year means the Republicans are calling for suspending Prop. 42 and saving about $1.5 billion. 
• Cut local governments by $1.3 billion. The 2004-05 budget shifted $1.3 billion away from local government and to the schools. So, rolling back to the 2004-05 budget means the Republicans want to amend the Constitution to once again allow the state to cut the locals by $1.3 billion.
• Cut the local government VLF backfill by $2 billion. The 2004-05 budget reflected only a $4.1 billion VLF backfill to local governments (paid through property tax shift from schools to locals). This means that rather than $6.1 billion, the locals will get a full $2 billion less under the Republican Plan.
• Sell the illegal Pension Obligation Bonds for $900 million. The 2004-05 budget included the Governor's scheme to sell $900 million of Pension Obligation Bonds to reduce the General Fund costs of supporting pensions. The courts have ruled these bonds to be illegal, but the Republicans included them in their plan to "Roll Back to 2004-05".

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