At the beginning of
last week, reports were circulating that a budget compromise was near, and that
there would probably be a vote by end of last week. Senate Democratic floor leader
Gloria Romero told Sacramento's KCRA News on February 3 that she expected a
deal by the end of the week. Alas, as of Friday morning, no deal had been
announced, and Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg said later that a
vote on a package will be held "sometime" this week.
Labor leaders and
environmentalists ratcheted up their opposition and could have contributed to
the failure to reach agreement last week. In fact, labor and the
environmentalists asked the attorney general to investigate possible
vote-trading by Republicans, which could make an agreement difficult.
Also, the governor's
plan to furlough state workers two days a month began on Friday. Whether the
furlough order applies to workers in agencies headed by other constitutional
officers and the State Board of Equalization remains in dispute. Sacramento
County Superior Court Judge Patrick Marlette previously ruled that existing law
gives the governor authority, during a fiscal emergency, to order furloughs.
Controller John Chiang last week sent a letter to the judge asking for
clarification about whether this means constitutional officers are required to
comply with the furlough order. On February 5, the judge responded to the
letter by saying the ruling that went into effect Friday does not address the
issue of whether the governor's order covers those positions.
Meanwhile, the
so-called Big Five continued to meet in secret to hammer out a budget
compromise. The justification for the secrecy is that if there is more
transparency, special interests will scuttle the deal, according to a February
4 story in The Sacramento Bee.
School district
lobbyist Kevin Gordon told The Bee: "Whether it's
education or labor or any of the other groups, when we get wind of something
that has significant jeopardy to us, we fight against it. It's a (lobbying)
system set up to defeat the latest idea that's been hatched, which makes it
that much harder to get a solution."
Aaron McLear, a spokesman for the governor, said: "The
governor has publicly proposed seven budgets this year, and his priorities in
the negotiations have been clear to the public. Before any deal is enacted, it
will be debated publicly on the floor of the Legislature."
Cal-TaxReports, February 10, 2009
© 2009 California Taxpayers'
Association.
All Rights Reserved.