Sunday Night State Assembly Vote: Budget Defeated
Richard Sharp
Assembly Republicans rejected a Democratic budget proposal last Sunday night. It was the first floor vote on a spending plan that’s now nearly 50 days late. Even so, there’s optimism that the debate may have moved things forward.
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(Sacramento, CA)
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Lawmakers argued for more than four hours
about how to fill the 15 billion dollar hole in the budget. Democrats put forward a more moderate proposal. But it wasn’t enough to get the GOP votes
needed. Democratic Assembly Speaker
Karen Bass:
"This is truly a compromise budget . It
includes all of the elements that the Governor said that he needs in order to
sign. It includes budget reform, it
includes more cuts and it includes a lottery proposal.”
The Democratic plan calls for more cuts and
a bigger rainy day fund. It also allows
the state to borrow against future lottery profits. But it still includes a non-starter for
Republicans: Billions in income tax
hikes on wealthy Californians. GOP
Assemblyman Roger Neillo said it would hurt the economy, and the real problem
is overspending:
“It is time for Democrats to take their
heads out of the sand. We’ve tried it
this way for years and we stand on the brink of bankruptcy. What are we doing
here?”
The heated debate also touched on a key
provision for Republicans: A hard limit
to future state spending growth – something Democrats don’t support. Despite the hours of name-calling the night
was not without its humor. Democratic
Assemblyman John Laird:
“We have had 49 speakers and I,
speaking I think on behalf of all Californians would like to thank those who
didn’t speak.”
Many
lawmakers ended their speeches by expressing hope that the public venting of
the issues might allow legislative leaders to now move forward on a
compromise. At least two of the
proposals being debated would require voter approval – and lawmakers are nearly
out of time to make the November ballot.