Governor mulls budget stance counter to GOP

Sacramento Bee ^ | 8/15/7 | Judy Lin

[SmithL]

In a move that would diminish the clout of his fellow Republicans in the Legislature, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested Monday that he could support eliminating the two-thirds voting requirement for passing future state budgets.

"Everyone now has come to the conclusion -- all the leaders -- that we must work, as soon as the budget is over, work on a system that allows us to have a budget on time," the governor said. "If that means we should go and shoot for, as some suggested, a simple majority to pass the budget rather than a two-thirds vote, maybe that's the solution."

In March 2004, California voters defeated Proposition 56, which would have lowered the legislative threshold for passing a budget and raising taxes to 55 percent from the current two-thirds majority. With Schwarzenegger, business groups and anti-tax organizations opposed, the measure lost, 66 percent to 34 percent.

But on Monday the governor said something needs to be done to avoid an annual fight. The Legislature has failed to meet a June 15 deadline for passing the budget 26 times in the past 30 years.

"We have to sit down and work that out, because it's one of the major problems we still have," Schwarzenegger said.

With Republicans the minority party for most of the past several decades, the higher voting threshold for budgets has given them a say on the state's annual fiscal plan.

Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman reacted wearily to the governor's suggestion. He said had there not been a two-thirds vote requirement in the Legislature under former Gov. Gray Davis, "you could have seen further financial problems" earlier this decade.

[SmithL]

Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, with his 7-year-old son Carlos, arrives Monday at the Birthing Project Clinic in Sacramento. At far right is Marie Young, general manager of the facility. Workers at the clinic say it cannot continue to operate without state funds that have been withheld because of the budget standoff.

[Incorrigible]

What a traitorous RINO!

[sheana]

Just because Schwartzeneggar has an R next to his name doesn’t make it so.

[vigilence]

So voters vetoed a plan to reduce the threshold from 67% to 55%, Arnold was on board. Now, because it may make him look bad or, as he would say, “we need to get something [anything?] done” he’s willing to side with the Dims because the budget is late! Swell...here’s an idea; anytime the budget is late revert back to the previous year’s budget. That way nothing gets done and there’s less government in our lives.

[calcowgirl]

What a traitorous RINO!

Even that description is an understatement.

The man is a tyrant.