California Budget: Time for Real Solutions
Governor Schwarzenegger Recycles Old Budget Ideas and Call for Deeper Cuts Now & into the FutureToday, Governor Schwarzenegger unveiled a budget plan that includes several ideas he's tried and failed to convince voters and the legislature to support in the past: budget constraints that will force ongoing cuts to education, healthcare, and other services in the future, and giving himself the unilateral power to make mid-year cuts up to $3 billion. His proposal also included $2 billion more in cuts to education, healthcare, and other services, and a temporary sales tax increase followed by a permanent sales tax cut. Read more in the Sacramento Bee and the California Progress Report.
Assembly Republicans Block Budget
On Sunday, August 17, the Assembly voted on a budget that both made deep cuts and raised substantial new revenue. All Democrats except for one voted for the budget. Not a single Republican Assemblymember did. Assembly Republicans, weeks past the budget due date, have yet to produce their own budget or specify the cuts they would make.
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Republican Voters Want Their Legislators to Compromise
Republican lawmakers who are holding out and refusing to compromise are not listening to their own constituents' desire for a pragmatic approach to our budget crisis.
SEIU recently conducted a survey of Republican voters and found that 65 percent of California Republican Voters say GOP legislators should work with Democrats to achieve a practical compromise to produce a balanced budget - including raising taxes.
Instead, according to recent news reports, Republican legislators see the budget crisis as their opportunity to advance an agenda they wouldn’t otherwise be able to. In one sign of progress, however, even the Senate Republican leader told the San Diego Union Tribune that after so many years of deficits, cuts alone will not solve our budget problem.
In the meantime ,thousands of workers have lost their jobs, community health clinics are scrambling for loans to stay afloat, hospitals and nursing homes aren't getting paid, and many school districts are preparing to start the school year without budgets. The state was unable to pay $1.25 bilion of its bills in July; this month, that figure will grow to $3 billion unless a budget is signed.
According to State Controller John Chiang, "The only way to avoid the risk of running out of cash is to quickly enact a budget that addresses the State's chronic structural deficit."
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Governor Proposes Federal Minimum Wage for State Workers
On July 23, the Governor announced that he plans to sign an executive order to pay state workers the federal minimum wage until a budget is signed, but State Controller John Chiang and SEIU 1000 quickly pushed back at the feeble attempt to use state workers' paychecks and their families' needs to pressure the legislature. The Controller said he would continue to pay workers their full salary and that the Governor's actions had the potential to cost the state triple damages in court. SEIU 1000 took immediate action.
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May ReviseSEIU CALIFORNIA STATE COUNCIL
2008-09 State Budget
Governor’s May Revision: Power Grab Again
Finally conceding that the budget deficit cannot be closed by cuts alone, the Governor released a May Revision that is a combination of deeper cuts, more borrowing, and a scheme to securitize the state lottery. Just when we thought all of the smoke and mirrors ideas had been used up, the Governor introduced yet another scheme to borrow from the gas tax, future lottery earnings, and various special funds. To add insult to injury, Schwarzenegger has wrapped it all up with a power grab proposal which would give him unprecedented power to ignore the Legislature, cut any programs he desires, and cap future spending.
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SEIU Statements & Materials
SEIU Local 99’s Blanca Gallegos spoke out recently about the effects of massive budget cuts on schools and kids.
» Read her statement
State workers are fighting for a third way to address the budget crisis: collect taxes owed.
» Check out their web site and materials here.
SEIU Budget Statement
SEIU Budget Headlines
Member Educational Materials
Childcare
Court Employees
Development Disablilities
Education
Healthcare
Social Services
State Workers
Coalitions We’re Part of
Education Coalition’s Campaign to Protect Our Kids and Schools
Other Resources
County Fact Sheets California Budget Project came out yesterday with a series of county-specific fact sheets.
News About California Faculty & campus fights brewing to fight the budget cuts. » Read More
Read the list from the Education Coalition of the budget impacts on local school districts throughout the state.
Read List by Local Scool District or by County.
California Budget Project’s budget cuts chart book
California Budget Project
California Tax Reform Association
Legislative Analysts Office