Put Welfare and EDD Recipients to Work in Sacramento Parks

I guess the parents better make sure that little Sally and little Johnny have gone potty before going to their local park.  Otherwise, they are gonna have a problem come next week.

Starting next week, finding a bathroom to use at a Sacramento park will be a lot tougher.  Budget cuts are forcing city leaders to close the restrooms at all Sacramento parks except for those at McKinley Park and William Land Park. The city is also closing five city pools to recreational swimming and several community centers will only be open by reservation. … Continue Reading

California Controller to Delay Certain Payments for 30 Days

From the State Controllers Office:

As State Controller, John Chiang is responsible for ensuring the State has sufficient funds to meet its financial obligations.

With no signs of an economic recovery in sight, it is critical that the Governor and the Legislature enact a sound budget solution that provides much-needed cash by February 1. If not, the State will be $346 million in the red at the end of February, and $5.2 billion in the red in April.

In order to preserve cash for education, debt service and other payments that are deemed by the State Constitution, federal law or court rulings as having first claim to available General Fund cash, the Controller announced he will begin delaying, for 30 days, payments to all other programs that are funded out of the State’s depleted General Fund.

Those payments that will be delayed include thousands of payments to businesses for services and products they provide to the State; to assistance for more than a million aged, blind and disabled Californians that goes to pay their rent, utilities, or put food on their tables; to State agencies that use the payments to fund critical public services, ranging from public safety to health and welfare.

The delay in payments also will apply to tax refunds that millions of individuals and businesses have earned, expect and deserve. Not only will the 30-day delay in refund payments cause significant financial harm to California families, it will delay the economic stimulus expected from consumer spending. Postponing the payment of tax refunds also will ultimately cost the state tens of millions of dollars in interest payments if those payments are postponed beyond the date prescribed by law.

If the Governor and Legislature fail to provide real and adequate solutions by late February, the Controller said he will be forced to postpone those payments for another 30 days.

Below is information regarding which legally protected payments will continue to be paid, what payments will be delayed, frequently asked questions, and the text of a letter from the Controller to Legislators.

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California State Offices to Shut Down First and Third Fridays Each Month

By Kevin Yamamura 
kyamamura@sacbee.com

Published: Friday, Jan. 09, 2009

Schwarzenegger to Veto Budget

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced today that he would veto the budget lawmakers approved hours earlier as it does not include long-term spending changes he is requiring.

Calling the budget proposal passed by lawmakers “irresponsible,” Gov. Schwarzenegger Tuesday announced plans to veto the spending plan as soon as it reaches his desk.

“Enough is enough,” Schwarzenegger told reporters at a State Capitol news conference.

“People aren’t getting paid, hospitals are in danger of closing, but I will not sign a get out of town budget…that punishes taxpayers,” Schwarzenegger said.

If lawmakers vote to override the veto, Schwarzenegger said, he will veto “hundreds” of bills awaiting action on his desk.

A marathon session of the Legislature ended at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday with the proposed compromise receiving the necessary two-thirds majority to pass the Assembly, 61-1, and the Senate, 28-12.

But lawmakers rejected one of Schwarzenegger’s demands, which would have placed tighter limits on when and how much money could be transferred from the state’s rainy-day fund.

It would take two-thirds of the Legislature to override the veto, and veto overrides are rare in California. The last time it was even attempted, according to the Speaker’s office, was in 2003, and it failed.

Legislative leaders of both parties said they were prepared to override Schwarzenegger this time. They scheduled a Thursday session to do so, assuming the governor vetoes the bill Wednesday.

“It is a mistake and I will vote to override the Governor’s veto, as should every other legislator who approved this budget, said Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto. “This Governor has failed to do the hard work of proposing real structural reforms to keep spending under control.”

SacBee.com

He also reiterated a threat he made during the impasse to veto any bills sent to him until a budget deal had been struck. If lawmakers override his budget veto, he said he will take a hard line on their legislation, potentially wiping away a year’s worth of work. “Hundreds of bills will be vetoed,” the governor said.

Let’s see if his bark is worse than his bite…

California Leaders Say They Have a Budget Deal

With Californians over 70 days with out a budget, it appears there may be light at the end of this tunnel.  With this news, a vote could come as soon as Monday.  Here’s hoping…

From the SacBee:

By Steve Wiegand - swiegand@sacbee.com

Last Updated 10:25 pm PDT Sunday, September 14, 2008

Legislative leaders said today they at last have a compromise deal on an 11-week-late state budget that calls for no tax increases, no borrowing from local governments or other state special funds — and which makes no one happy.

Emerging from a weekend meeting in the office of Senate GOP leader Dave Cogdill, the quartet declined to give specific details of their compromise plan, saying they wanted to talk to their respective caucuses first.

But they said the plan closes the $15.2 billion gap in the $103.4 billion budget for the fiscal year that began July 1 with $9 billion in spending cuts. The rest of the gap will be patched by closing tax loopholes and “accelerated revenue collections,” an accounting term for collecting some one-time revenues in this fiscal year rather than the next. The leaders indicated that while balanced, the budget anticipates at least a $2 billion hole in next year’s budget.

They also said it contains reforms of the budget process that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had demanded, including beefing up a rainy-day reserve fund and giving the governor limited authority to make mid-year budget cuts.

“I believe we are 99.9 percent there,” said Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles. “Each of us has to talk to our respective caucuses, but we look forward to having a vote on the budget (Monday).”

Senate President Don Perata, D-Oakland, went Bass one-10th better by saying he was “100 percent sure that there is a deal here.”

Perata also said Schwarzenegger’s representatives have been privy to the deal, and that he was confident the governor would find it acceptable. Schwarzenegger has warned he would veto any budget that relied on borrowing or lacked structural reforms.

“The agreement as it stands today should get us a budget,” said Assembly GOP leader Mike Villines of Clovis, “and allow us to move forward.”

It also will allow legislators to get out of Sacramento. The regular session ended in August, but the lack of a budget kept lawmakers in town. Assuming the governor likes the deal, the compromise will allow legislators to send more than 700 bills to Schwarzenegger’s desk.

The governor had vowed to veto legislation sent to him before a budget, and lawmakers countered by simply holding onto the measures.