Brown Stays Determined As Arrows Fly In Budget Battle
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS/AP) – With budget talks hitting a wall, California Gov. Jerry Brown said Thursday he was still determined to give voters a chance to decide whether to extend tax increases to balance the state's budget.
Brown said at a meeting of apartment investors and builders that he remained in negotiations to get the four Republican votes he needs to call a special election. The election would let voters weigh in on whether to extend increases in sales, vehicle and personal income taxes for up to five years.
"I'm not giving up. I'm going to keep working till we get those tax extensions. And we will get them, one way or another," Brown said.
The governor last week vetoed a budget passed by Democratic lawmakers, saying the spending plan relied too much on borrowing and legal maneuvers. Republicans have resisted Brown's call for a special election without promises of pension reform and a state spending cap, possibly as companion ballot initiatives.
KCBS' Doug Sovern Reports:
Brown has said since his gubernatorial campaign that he would seek a statewide vote on the increases, the last of which expire June 30. No special election could likely occur before September, which puts lawmakers in the politically unpalatable position of asking voters to approve what amount to new tax increases, since the old increases would have expired.
If GOP legislators won't agree in the next few weeks to the special election and a "bridge tax" that will keep the increases in place until a statewide vote, Brown said the process of getting an initiative before voters would take the better part of a year.
"But I'm going to tee this up so that all of you and the people of California can weigh in," Brown told meeting attendees.
Lawmakers from both parties question whether Brown should continue to push for a special election vote and are declaring the proposal dead. Democrats say they aren't willing to support pension reforms and Republicans say they won't support extending taxes.
"I have no idea where he's going to go and I have no idea where he's going to get his votes," said Assemblyman Charles Calderon, D-Whittier.
Assembly Republican Leader Connie Conway of Tulare said tax extensions are not necessary because state revenues have been on the rise. The governor projected an extra $6.6 billion in his May budget revision and Conway suggested that figure has since gone up to $7.4 billion.
"In my mind that puts a huge hole in the argument for taxes," she said during a luncheon in Sacramento on Thursday.
Her caucus previously released a plan that contains no tax increases, holds education funding flat but relies on borrowing and untested maneuvers such as contracting out prison medical care.
Conway said she has reached out to Assembly Speaker John Perez to see if they can reach a bipartisan deal without tax increases to override Brown's veto. Perez's staff said the speaker is willing to work with Republicans but dismissed the idea that Democrats in the Assembly could support deeper cuts to state programs.
"We certainly would not be open to an all-cuts budget," said Perez's spokeswoman Robin Swanson.
For the first time, California lawmakers are losing their salaries and living expenses until they balance the state's annual spending plan by closing its $9.6 billion budget deficit. In previous years, they were able to get retroactive pay once they passed a tardy budget. Earlier this week the state controller decided to halt pay after determining that a Democratic budget package that was vetoed by the governor was not balanced.
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