[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By State Senator Sheila Kuehl

This essay will set out some background information on California’s budget this year beginning with the actions taken on the 2007-2008 budget earlier this year. The next essay will set out the budget proposed by the Governor in January, highlighting those issues he later changed his mind about. Following essays will detail the new budget proposals contained in the May Revision (usually called the May Revise) to the January budget, divided into sections by subject matter along with analyses of the winners, the losers, the false scares, the posturing, and some possible conclusions.

What budget are we talking about here?

Just as a reminder, the California budgets run from July 1 of any year to June 30 of the next year. Last August, 2007, the Governor and the Legislature finally agreed on the 2007-2008 budget, which was balanced through deep cuts in social services, borrowing from special funds and no new taxes or fees. By the time the Legislature returned from end-of-the-year time in our districts, the budget, as expected, since no long-term solutions had been adopted, was again out of balance. Revenues to the state had dropped precipitously as income dropped, capital gains dropped and sales tax revenues went down as families tightened their belts.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By David Dayen
d-day

The headline, State Democrats determined to raise taxes, is kind of ridiculous, but the meat of the story indicates that Democratic leaders are drawing a line in the sand.

“Democratic legislative leaders declared this morning that they are prepared to delay the state budget this year if that's what it takes to get tax increases, which they called the only reasonable solution to California's multibillion-dollar shortfall.

"This is going to be the fight of a lifetime," Senate leader Don Perata (D-Oakland) declared at a news conference on the steps of a Sacramento high school that faces teacher layoffs and bigger classes under the governor's proposed budget, which closes the deficit with spending cuts, borrowing and deferrals.

"We are not going to be going anywhere this summer," he said, referring to the annual midyear process of trying to agree on a budget by the July 1 start of the new fiscal year. "I told everybody that wants to go to the Democratic [National] Convention, ... TiVo it. That is close as you are going to get."

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]