Schwarzenegger signs budget bills

The Republican governor signed the bills Friday during a brief event that was closed to reporters.

He made no public comments.

On Thursday, Schwarzenegger praised lawmakers for taking a courageous stand in agreeing to a compromise.

The plan includes $15 billion in spending cuts, $12.8 billion in temporary tax increases and $11 billion in borrowing.

"The best thing that it does is keep the school districts from having to lay off teachers and the districts will be able to continue their programs for the rest of the year without making any drastic changes," said Assemblymember Wilmer Amina Carter, D-Rialto.

The package of 34 bills passed both houses of the Legislature with the minimum number of Republican votes needed to reach the required two-thirds majority.

"There's so much more we have to talk about and so much more we have to do to get the state going in the right direction and make it more competitive with neighboring states, so we can attract and retain the private sector of growth," said Assemblyman Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills.