Sacramento: August 2008 Archives

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's pledge to avoid signing a state budget unless it includes long-term fiscal reforms has put him in a tight spot. AP in the Daily News.

Such steps will require voter approval, but the window for placing additional measures on the Nov. 4 ballot is shutting fast and the Legislature appears no closer to a budget compromise than it was two months ago.

So what happens if the reforms Schwarzenegger has insisted upon can't be put before voters this year?

With the state legislature deadlocked over submitting a sales tax to voters, Secretary of State Debra Bowen advised county elections officials to move forward with their legally required duties in preparation for the November 4, 2008, General Election.
"Rumors have swirled about changing timelines for last-minute ballot measures, so I want to reiterate: The statutory deadline for placing legislative measures on the ballot was June 26," Bowen said,
"In the past, the Legislature and the Governor have chosen to waive laws and place measures on the ballot after the deadline. We are at the point where that is unacceptable. At this late date, 67 days before the election, any more changes would seriously jeopardize the integrity of the election.

Backing off his pledge to sign no bills before lawmakers adopt a state budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday approved legislation designed to strengthen wording of the high-speed rail bond measure on the Nov. 4 ballot. AP in the Daily News.

The Republican governor announced Aug. 6 that he would sign no bills sent to him before lawmakers approved an overdue budget. He had hoped the threat that their bills could end up being vetoed would force lawmakers to compromise.

But on Monday night, Schwarzenegger sent legislative leaders a letter urging them to immediately send him four bills so he could sign them in time to put them on the November ballot.

California is now 50 days into its fiscal year with no budget, and political leaders appear as bitterly divided as ever over how to solve the state's serious fiscal woes.Mike Zapler in the Mercury News.

A meeting Tuesday afternoon between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and four legislative leaders ended with the Republican governor in open conflict with members of his own party, possibly a new low for Schwarzenegger's strained relations with the GOP.

The Republican Assembly leader stormed out of the meeting in Schwarzenegger's office early, all but declaring it a waste of time. Later, in a rare impromptu appearance before reporters, the governor implored lawmakers to remain in Sacramento until they complete a budget.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to raise the state sales tax by 1 percentage point for several years as part of a plan to close the state's gaping budget deficit, sources familiar with the negotiations said Monday.Mike Zapler in the Mercury News.

The proposal marks a sharp deviation from the Republican governor's longstanding opposition to higher taxes. Schwarzenegger, sources said, suggested boosting the sales tax - which currently ranges from 7.25 percent to 8.75 percent in California, depending on the jurisdiction - for a period of three years, and to use the proceeds to help create a larger rainy-day reserve. He also wants to impose stricter spending limits on the Legislature.

After three years, the sales tax would drop by a quarter percentage point from its current level - an idea designed to make the plan more palatable to Republicans. A tax increase of 1 cent for every dollar in sales would generate about $5 billion annually, about one-third the size of the state's shortfall.

- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday, trying to avoid a "full-blown" financial crisis in California, eliminated thousands of part-time and temporary positions and ordered that up to 200,000 state workers receive the federal minimum wage.AP in the Daily News.

His signing of the executive order had been expected since last week but is a stark illustration of the cash problem facing the nation's most populous state.

Lawmakers have yet to agree on a spending plan a month after the state's fiscal year began, leaving California without the ability to pay contractors, the higher education system and legislative employees.

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi became the first candidate to announce he is running for California governor in 2010 by blasting the incumbent Thursday over the state's budget stalemate and declaring that he would raise taxes if elected. Sacramento Bee.

The veteran Democratic politician announced his gubernatorial bid on the west steps of the Capitol, moments before Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an order to cut thousands of temporary state jobs and freeze pay of 200,000 workers at $6.55 an hour to help the state pay its bills.

The timing of Garamendi's announcement was no coincidence as he used the state's budget standoff to tout his own credentials as a leader who can direct the California out of a fiscal morass.