California Legislature Approves Budget
From
Associated Press on NPR.org
MercuryNews.com
CNN.com
February 19, 2009
At 6:30 a.m. the California senate passed a state budget after five days of intense
negotiations and a 42-hour session. The legislators have been working on this budget
for 3 months now since Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had called a special session
in the senate to deal with the states financial problems.
Schwarzenegger originally threatened to cut 10k jobs if a budget did not get passed and
then another 10k if budget did not get passed today. State workers and teachers now
will not get laid off.
The breakthrough came when Abel Maldonado, a Republican senator form the central
coast, agreed to sign the budget in exchange for his own reforms.
Maldonado wanted three things:
open primaries—In elections for governors, senators and congress people, the
top two candidates in a primary election would run in the general election even if
they were from the same party, say both republican or both democratic. This
makes political party less important.
no pay raises for lawmakers when the state is running a deficit—(senators &
congress people don’t get more money if the state is low on money),
and no gas tax increase.
The first two will be voted on by the public in 2010. The gas tax was removed from the
new budget.
Democrats were angry that he would try to make such a deal for his vote. Maldonado
says he just wants to make California better and avoid the type of mess we have now in
the future.
This budget will come with tax increases. The temporary increases will last from 2 to 4
years depending on how voter decide in May. Taxes include
a 1cent sale tax increase,
a personal income tax surcharge
and a vehicle license fee increase.
Tax increases are extremely unpopular with republicans. Maldonado and other
republicans who voted for this budget with its large tax increases may have ended their
political careers.