[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

State Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) has concluded three days of talks in Washington DC with federal lawmakers in an effort to secure more federal funds for California. California currently receives only 79 cents for every dollar we pay in federal taxes. Speaker Bass met with Senator Dianne Feinstein, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and other members of the California Congressional delegation. The Speaker says her meetings focused on an extension of federal unemployment benefits, assistance for public safety programs, education funding and long-term solutions to California water issues. Bass said she was encouraged by her meetings. Here’s more in this Assembly Web Report.

[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]

In the Democratic weekly radio address, Assemblymember John Laird argues that the Governor’s budget proposal unfairly hurts struggling Californians.

You may listen in English or Spanish. The transcript is below.

Hello, this is Assembly Budget Chair John Laird.

Earlier this week, we saw the governor present his updated budget proposal for next year.

The governor’s proposals are not the right answer for California and are not a real fix. They’re bad for our economy, lay off teachers and are based on risky assumptions.

However, I am glad the Governor recognizes that we need to bring in more revenue -- that the budget deficit cannot be solved through cuts alone.

But there are cuts in this budget proposal that unfairly hurt struggling California families.

Also, the current budget does not address long-term solutions and I think it’s important to do that. So, I applaud the governor for embracing the proposal for a tax commission that will study ways to bring our state’s revenue collection into the 21st century.