California State Senators Spend the Night Together--Still No Budget

"Bringing the operating deficit to zero this year would mean a cut to the education budget. The question now is whether we cut education funding and I don't think that's what the people of California want. I will not cut education."

Maybe a little bran flakes for breakfast will have the effect Perata was hoping for on his Republican counterparts. We may be able to tell something when they emerge from their cave, er--caucus. They had adopted a "unit rule" or made a "suicide pact" that none of them would vote for the budget unless a majority of the caucus was in support of it. That means 8 out of 15 Republican Senators would have to agree.

So, yesterday individual Republicans were given a get out of the Senate card and escorted by the Sergeants at Arms to the Governor's office for a little chat--and perhaps a cigar or two.

Yesterday, Republican leader Ackerman indicated that changes to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) was part of what he wanted in a budget deal. So there may be some larger fights and other extraneous matters introduced into the standoff.

One such matter--a tax credit (read tax break) for the film industry and other well connected interest, died of it's own weight as it was poorly drafted and even Republicans would not support it. The Assembly, under Republican demands for these tax breaks, amended SB 98, which had been a simple bill stating that "It is the intent of the Legislature to make statutory changes relating to the Budget At of 2007." This is what is known as a "spot bill"--one obviously hanging around to be the "vehicle" for quick action. In the middle of the Assembly's night on the budget it became a 63 page tax bill. There is not even an analysis of the bill on the legislature's public site--even though we are now more than a day after it passed.

Substantive bills ought to have substantive hearings before they are passed. They need to be vetted. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez has vowed to work with Assembly Republicans to revise and amend this tax bill. At least it got the Assembly Budget passed.

Such are the problems with the unusual California Constitutional arrangement that requires a two-thirds vote of the Assembly and Senate before a budget is passed and then sent to the Governor who can then veto or reduce items. There is a check and balance with the normal statutory scheme of passing bills by a majority vote and allowing a governor to veto them and only be overridden by two-thirds vote. The check and balance and balance we have, has resulted in many late budgets and obviously isn't working. This is just the latest example of how it allows a small group of legislators to throw a monkey wrench in the whole works and bring it to a grinding halt until they get their way on matters that sometimes aren't even in the budget itself.

Perata cajoled the Senate last night from the floor. He recited all the areas they had worked hard on--some of them complicated financial deals such as the infrastructure bonds placed on last year's ballot and passed by the voters. Some of that money is being allocated in the bills being considered by the Senate and he reminded the body that they were trying to work together and accomplish this by consensus. There are many bills surrounding the bonds that can be passed by a majority vote, and Perata stated his hope that they could accomplish those with a two-thirds vote. He concluded: "We danced with each other, we got to the party--we ought to go home with each other."

If and when the budget is passed, they will go their separate ways for the recess until August 20. I doubt they'll be going home together.