by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Gary A. Patton
Executive Director
Planning and Conservation League

As you probably know, the State Legislature finally passed a budget. Fifty-two days after the start of the fiscal year, two Senate Republicans finally added their "aye" votes to the votes of all the Senate Democrats, thus achieving the two-thirds vote required.
What was the pound of flesh extracted for this vote? Republican leaders in the Senate were asking for two things: (1) $700 million more in cuts, and (2) an amendment of California's premier environmental law – the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) - to eliminate consideration of global warming impacts during the normal environmental review process. The Governor promised to deliver on the first matter weeks ago.

Their second demand not only has nothing to do with the budget process but is also bad policy. However, because the budget requires a two-thirds vote, a compromise had to be reached. Thus, the Legislature passed SB 97, a bill that exempts certain transportation and flood projects from normal CEQA review. SB 97 allows a project to go forward without an analysis of its climate emissions if it is already regulated by the Air Resources Board under AB 32 – The Global Warming Solutions Act. Provisions of the bill sunset on January 1, 2010.

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Working Californians blogs]

At 4 am this morning the Assembly passed the budget. The Senate is hearing it right now, and is expected to pass it, though not without some rancor. The budget was passed mostly on the backs of cuts to transit funding, the poor and teachers. The Democrats appear to have caved on most issues, but not to the extent that the Republicans and Arnold wanted.

Let's run down a few details as to the actual program cuts.