[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill, long known as the “budget nun” in Sacramento, will be leaving her jobafter 22 years, reports the LA Times. She is only the fourth person toserve in the office since it was founded in 1941. Her only regret, ofcourse, is that California is still $16 billion in the hole.

More than 10,000 teachers across the stateare expected to be notified this weekend of being laid off due to thestate budget crisis, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. The Governorhas proposed to  cut $4 billion to schools, forcing many local schooldistricts to lay off teachers or face insolvency.

Photo courtesy of the Legislative Analyst's Office.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

California will lose a trusted public servant and bona fide "budget nun" when Elizabeth Hill steps down from the Legislative Analyst's office atthe end of this year. She called it like she saw it, never doing favorsfor unions or property owners, Republicans or Democrats, the LosAngeles Times reports. I met Hill when she visited my school a year orso ago and was really impressed by her candor and pragmatism—it's aloss.

It isn't just gas that is rising in price. Food, too, is becoming a higher expense for California families, with many in Northern California forced to ration, buy foods on saleand come out retirement to take part-time work, the Sacramento Beereports. This where the economy really starts to pinch.

Statewide protests against Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed budget cuts are underway, with many education advocates declaring a "morality problem" rather than a spending problem with respect to K-12, the LA  Timesreports. It may be premature, however, to focus one's attention onArnold's budget, given its swift dismissal by everyone who takesbudgets seriously—the numbers are going to look quite different in acouple months.

There's more... 

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Top Democratic politicos are weighing in the results of this Tuesday’s indecisive primaries with the New York Times.  “Everybody is sort of taking a deep breathright now,” says Obama backer Edward Kennedy. It may come down toMichigan and (oh dear) Florida—the governors of each state (Granholm, aDem, and Crist, a Republican) have issued joint statement to the DNCthat they would, in some way or another, like their votes to be counted.

In other news, Hillary Clinton’s spokesman Howard Wolfson has compared Obama to Ken Starr , reports the Associated Press. Please let this be over soon.

George Skelton at the LA Times urges us to give Governor Schwarzenegger credit for heeding legislative analyst Elizabeth Hill’s call to close tax loopholes,a move that could generate $2.7 billion, which would be a good waytowards digging the state out of its $8 billion deficit. Better yet,the Governor says, “This is $2.5 billion we can give straight toeducation. I am totally for that…”

by Robert in Monterey [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Peter Schrag

You don't have to read between the lines of Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill's "Alternate Budget" to understand its basic message: The governor couldn't have been serious in his own budget proposals.

The governor's plan, she said, "reflects little effort to prioritize and determine which state programs provide essential services or are most critical to California's future. In doing so, the administration has shifted much of the responsibility for crafting a workable budget to the Legislature."

The fiercely nonpartisan LAO is supposed to analyze, question, suggest. An alternate budget that includes revenues increases is unprecedented. It says: If you can't do it, let us show you how. If the Legislature were controlled by the current crop of Republicans, she'd probably be looking for a job.

Predictably, much of the attention went to Hill's tax heresies. She actually proposed increasing revenues, largely by closing some $2.65 billion in what she regards as unproductive or unjustified tax loopholes.

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]