There are no more golden days in the Golden State. For years, former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger engaged in gimmicks and smokescreens to patch together budgets that were long on cuts and borrowing and short on tax hikes. The budgets were chronically late as lawmakers bickered over numbers that had no basis in reality.
When voters elected Jerry Brown there was hope that at least we had someone in Sacramento who knew what he was doing. Even before he took office in early January, Brown, a former two-term governor, was in Sacramento putting together a plan to balance the state's budget, which has a $26 billion deficit.
In just over two months in office, Brown has tried just about everything to hold a special election in June so voters can decide whether to extend some taxes that were enacted two years ago and are set to expire. While it may be risky to pin the budget on state voters, he doesn't have much choice. The Legislature has already approved cuts of $7.4 billion, not including action on Brown's controversial cuts to redevelopment and enterprise zones. Extending the taxes would bring in revenue that is expected to make up another $12 billion. Without the special election – and voters' approval of the tax extensions – Brown said this week that even more drastic cuts would have to be made to balance the budget.
So, what's the problem with getting the measures on the June ballot? Simply put, it's the lack of four Republican lawmakers – two each in the Assembly and Senate – since a two-thirds vote is required. Brown has been meeting with a core group of five GOP lawmakers in an effort to secure their votes, but so far none have publicly said they would vote to support him.
Republicans currently make up about 30 percent of the electorate, yet have outsized influence over the state's budget process. That's shortsighted on the part of the California Republican Party because Republicans make up just 31 percent of the state's registered voters, compared to 44 percent who are registered Democratic.
More than that, it's the Republicans who are always screaming that "the people" should have a vote on taxes. But now that Brown wants to do just that, Republicans in Sacramento won't vote to put the measures on the ballot. There's a disconnect here.
Brown exhibited much patience during these drawn-out negotiations, but on Monday he took to YouTube to "check in," as he put it, with the people of California. He pointed out that in previous years, lawmakers and voters alike have had a "tendency to avoid reality" with respect to the budget. He also reminded viewers that, as he said during last year's gubernatorial campaign, he would go to the people for votes on taxes. His proposal, he said, is to give voters the "opportunity to extend some temporary taxes that were enacted two years ago" or, if voters reject those measures, there will have to be another $12 billion or so in cuts. Those cuts would likely come at the expense of universities, police, and firefighters, among others.
We met with state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) last week to talk about the budget problems. As chair of the Senate Budget Committee, he is infuriated by Republicans' inaction. And he pointed to a just-released Field Poll showing that while Republican voters are against the tax extensions, they do want the vote. That's directly at odds with what Republican legislators are doing, noted Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo.
Brown is right. The state's finances will not get better until the state realistically confronts its budget mess, and his plan is a big part of that. The state is in for some tough times – $12 billion in cuts is not minor by any measure. And the unwillingness of GOP lawmakers to let the people vote is irresponsible. They are charting a course that will make the party more irrelevant in California than it already is and will result in hardship for Californians.
That $12 billion in cuts is just the beginning if revenues aren't increased. This week, Brown floated to put an initiative on tax extensions on the November ballot, which would bypass Republican opposition in the Legislature. It's not his preferred plan, but given the stalemate in Sacramento thanks to the GOP, he hasn't many options. A balanced budget that relies solely on program cuts would be extremely harmful to students, the working poor, the elderly, and many others.