[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Most Californians won't feel the impact of the budget delay,reports the Sacramento Bee. Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata arguesthat it's more important to have a budget "done right" than one on time.

Conservative activistsare getting ready to battle John McCain on the Republican platform.They fear that the Senator's views on global warming, immigration, stemcell research, and campaign finance will become official Republicanprinciples.

William Kristol wonders, "Where's Murphy?"Mike Murphy is the Republican strategist who led McCain's 2000 primaryrace. Kristol speculates that McCain will need Murphy's help soon if hewants to beat Barack Obama (fat chance).

There's more... 

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By John Laird
Chair of
Assembly Budget Committee and
Conference Committee on the Budget

The final state budget has been signed by the governor, and it’s bad news for anyone who looks to the state for health care, lower fees for higher education, human services, public transit, library programs, or protecting parks and the environment.

The budget delay also demonstrated why the budget process is broken. California is one of just three states—the others being Arkansas and Rhode Island—that require a two-thirds vote of each legislative house to approve a budget.

Even though the legislative budget process—highlighted by public hearings and a bi-partisan conference committee—produced a balanced budget on-time, Republican Senators held the budget up for 52 days. The budget that was held up also included the largest budget reserve in the history of the state. And it included no new taxes.

The 14 Senators blocking the budget not only wanted massive cuts in spending, they also wanted to leverage issues that were not even included in the budget, such as Attorney General actions against local governments on the fight against global warming. At one point, they even wanted to get around voters’ disapproval of parental notification for teens receiving reproductive health services.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

State Budget Delay Still Has Impact

From the Office of the Controller

State Controller John Chiang today announced more than $3 billion in payments delayed during the budget stalemate that ended Friday are in the process of being printed and mailed.

Among the first payments processed over the weekend were 40,000 Medi-Cal warrants for $1.2 billion owed to hospitals, nursing homes, health clinics and managed health care plans. The printing of those warrants, which started on Sunday, took 15 hours. Employees in the State Controller’s Office are inserting and sorting those payments today, and they will be either mailed out Tuesday night, or electronically deposited on Wednesday.

“I am extremely proud of the hard work of the dedicated employees of the State Controller’s Office,” Chiang said. “We all realize the pain that so many Californians experienced as a result of the 52-day budget impasse, and are working around the clock to get these claims processed and the checks in the mail as quickly as possible.”

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

The Legislature is close to a deal on the 52-day old state budget, butlawmakers left session late yesterday uncertain about their progress,with Speaker Fabian Nunez (left) saying he was "puzzled" about GOP holdouts, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. At this points, the hold-upappears to be over Republicans demands to reduce global warming relatedlawsuits and increase funding for suburban schools, both of littleimportance to the overall budget.

A group of parents and caregivers took to the streets in the Bay Areayesterday to remind Californians of the budget delay's real-lifeimpact, the Oakland Tribune reports. A number of day-care centers whosechildren receive state subsidies are turning to neighbors and churches to feed those in their care, and the kindness of strangers will also last them so long.

A new Field Poll shows a plurality of Californians inclined to supportefforts at splitting the state's electoral votes by Congressionaldistrict, the Chronicle reports. The tentative ballot measure filed byRepublican operatives is a partisan power grab that would essentiallygive an Ohio-sized prize to the GOP presidential candidate without true electoral reform.

There's more...

by jsw [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Today's Blog Roundup is on the flip. Let me know what I missed.

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[courtesy of California Progress Report]

• More Community Providers Reaching Crisis Point
• Bakersfield Senior Program to Close Down

By Marty D. Omoto
Director/Organizer
California Disability Community Action Network

With the State not able to pay over $1 billion in reimbursements, with some exceptions, thousands of community-based providers have reached or are reaching crisis points that could mean reductions in critical services to seniors, children and adults with disabilities, low income children, people with mental health needs and others across California who are receive a wide range of programs and services, including those in nursing facilities, intermediate care facilities, adult day health centers serving seniors, independent living centers and more.

Last week, DSN, a statewide provider organization of health facilities, said that many nursing homes and intermediate care facilities that serve seniors and persons with developmental disabilities face the possibility of reductions in services or closure.

Bakersfield Senior Program Set to Close Friday: "Lost Faith in Government" Says Provider

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

So it's not a scientific poll, but here's the first sampling I've seen of who Californians are blaming for the budget impasse. And no surprise: it's the Senate Republicans.
 
KCRA had Speaker Nunez face off with Senate Republican Roy Ashburn in studio last night during the station's 6:30 p.m. broadcast. The web poll was launched afterward.