"Lawmakers have started tackling California's $26 billion budget gap. Governor Jerry Brown has proposed a budget that addresses half of the shortfall with reductions in spending and half with a temporary extension of tax increases. He says that the era of balancing the budget with gimmicks and rosy revenue predictions is over -- there are no easy ways to close a budget shortfall that massive. Spending cuts for some of the neediest Californians is inevitable.
What lawmakers have embarked on will likely prove to be a multi-day vote on portions of the budget, approving eight of twenty bills making up Brown's proposed budget. On Wednesday, they approved more than $7 billion in spending reductions, which will reduce spending on health and welfare services for the poor, elderly, and physically and mentally disabled.
Most Democrats and some Senate Republicans voted for the spending reductions. It is proving more difficult to get Assembly Republicans on board."
California Budget in Crisis: Lawmakers Pass Spending Cuts, No Agreement on Tax Extensions
SoCal Focus | KCET:
