[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

In 2003, in response to the threat of a $14 billion budget deficit (sound familiar?), Governor Schwarzenegger proposed -- but failed to pass -- a strict budget spending cap triggering automatic "robocuts" which even he later admitted would have had the effect of locking in billions of dollars in reductions to essential state services such as public safety.
 
In 2005, the Governor proposed and funded Proposition 76, a statewide initiative that would have once again set a strict spending cap, weakened Proposition 98 and given the Governor unilateral authority to make budget cuts to education, public safety and other services, whenever, wherever, he wanted.  It was overwhelmingly defeated by a 24-point margin.
 
This year, on the eve of the Governor’s State of the State and Budget announcement -- and, again, in the face of a $14-billion budget deficit -- the Governor appears to be eyeing opportunity in crisis and readying yet another run at a controversial spending cap/robocuts scheme.