Excerpt
Gov. Jerry Brown of California on Thursday vetoed the state budget that the Democratic-controlled Legislature had passed the day before, saying that the plan merely papered over the long-term deficit and added billions of dollars in debt.
The veto means that the governor will have to reopen negotiations with the Legislature to win approval for his plan to close a nearly $10 billion gap. The plan relies on extending some taxes that are set to expire this year, and for it to pass, Mr. Brown needs the support of two Republicans in each legislative chamber. Those votes have been elusive.
Many lawmakers said they had expected the governor to continue to negotiate with Republicans, but few expected the veto. It was the first budget veto since at least the 1920s.
Mr. Brown, who has railed against maneuvers that the state has relied on for years to balance its budget, placed the blame on Republicans and commended lawmakers from his party for their “tremendous efforts.” But he said the plan that was approved on Wednesday was not truly balanced.
He said that the spending plan contained “legally questionable maneuvers, costly borrowing and unrealistic savings,” and that it would not meet the state’s financial obligations.
“A balanced budget is critical to our economic recovery,” he said in his veto message. “I am, once again, calling on Republicans to allow the people of California to vote on tax extensions for a balanced budget and significant reforms.”
He said the extensions, on sales, income and vehicle taxes, were the only alternative to deep cuts and were needed to solve long-term problems.
“California is in a fiscal mess,” Mr. Brown said. “The political class is deeply divided.”
“If we can’t find a way to get around that, then we will irreversibly enter on a pathway of decline.” He added that deeper cuts would be “a tragedy for which Republicans will bear full responsibility.”
One reason for the legislators’ scramble to pass the stopgap budget by Wednesday’s deadline is that state law calls for them to be docked a full day’s pay for every day the budget is late. The law requires legislators to pass a balanced state budget, but it was unclear whether the state controller, who issues their paychecks, would consider the budget they passed to have met that criterion.
"Jerry Brown vetoes budget - Democrats 'dismayed'" by Marisa Lagos, Wyatt Buchanan; San Francisco Chronicle 6/17/2011
Excerpt
The leaders, who spent most of the year taking direction on a budget strategy from the governor, appeared blindsided by the governor's veto, which marked the first time in California history that a governor had taken such action.
"His decision is apparently part of some elaborate strategy to force a confrontation," said Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, adding that Brown's continual push for his budget plan "ring(s) hollow if he is unable to deliver Republican votes."
Unfazed by anger
Assemblyman Charles Calderon, D-Whittier (Los Angeles County), said Brown's veto, "prolongs the public confusion and fear that has been the shame of every budget in this state for the last 30 years."
Brown seemed unfazed by their anger. Speaking to reporters in Los Angeles, he said he remains confident that "we can do better than the budget plan that was presented to me this morning."
But he also praised the majority party for approving $10.8 billion in cuts and other measures this spring, and said if taxes aren't approved, deeper cuts to public safety and education will be the fault of the GOP.
"We're going to get something better, you can be sure of that," Brown said. "Whether I can get the Republican votes, it remains to be seen. But I'm going to give them a chance to become heroes rather than the people who are complicit in the destruction of universities and schools."
Praise for Brown
A number of groups praised the governor for his veto. They included the California Chamber of Commerce and the California State Association of Counties, which criticized the plan adopted by Democrats on Wednesday as being filled with gimmicks.
"Budget veto: Brown's stark choice" Editorial, Los Angeles Times 6/16/2011
That was quick.
Gov. Jerry Brown wasted no time vetoing two gimmick-laden budget bills passed Wednesday by Democrats in the Legislature. His veto message was harshly critical, saying the package "adds billions in new debt" and "contains legally questionable maneuvers, costly borrowing and unrealistic savings." All of those things are true.
Yet Brown also blamed Republicans (who didn't give a single vote to the budget package) rather than Democrats for the Legislature's current predicament. He's right on that point too, but that's not the whole story. The Legislature isn't likely to solve the state's long-term fiscal problems unless GOP lawmakers concede more ground. But Democrats have to be willing to give more too.
By vetoing the bills, Brown kept his campaign promise not to support budgetary shell games. He also presented lawmakers with a stark choice: either agree to his proposal to ask voters to extend some temporary tax increases, or make deeper cuts in schools, universities and public safety. Those areas weren't hit as hard as safety net programs were when the Legislature approved more than $10 billion in cuts in March, but with a budget gap of about $10 billion remaining, those programs are the biggest targets.
Lawmakers have already cut general-fund spending to 2005 levels, and cutting billions more would take an unacceptable toll on vital state services. And California doesn't have to go down that road — Republicans have said they're willing to let the public vote on Brown's tax proposal, which would maintain a temporary hike in sales and vehicle taxes for five years instead of allowing them to drop on July 1.
But Republicans and Democrats haven't been able to strike a deal, and each side blames the other for that failure. Republicans say that Brown and his Democratic colleagues won't accept the limits on public pensions, spending and regulatory power that the GOP has proposed. Brown says he'll support pension and regulatory reform and a spending cap, but that Republicans must agree to a "bridge tax" that would keep sales and vehicle taxes at their elevated rates until the public has a chance to vote on the issue in the fall.
Many elements of the GOP's proposal have merit. Lawmakers should stop public employee pensions from being artificially inflated, and they should put pension funds on more sound financial footing. It also makes sense to have a more rigorous and results-oriented approach to crafting regulations, to stop the California Environmental Quality Act from being used to deter competition, and to prevent lawmakers from using spikes in revenue to launch unsustainable programs. Democrats should be willing to accept reforms along those lines, even though other aspects of the Republican plan go too far.
Republicans, meanwhile, should recognize that Brown is serious about forcing tough choices. Granted, it's hard for Republicans to support even a temporary tax increase. And there's no guarantee voters won't reject Brown's plan if they're given the chance to do so. But the compromise Brown offers is far better than the deep cuts that he insists are the alternative. And his veto shows that he's not kidding.
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