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In a Capitol where groundbreaking achievements have been trumped by money woes in recent years, state officials are now hoping to broaden their ambitions to more than paying the state's bills, without breaking the bank. At their disposal is an unusual new resource: time. That may be the only upside of the fiscal crisis. After lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger came together on a spending plan in February -- instead of at the end of a hot Sacramento summer -- they now see in the eight months ahead the potential to solidify the state's fragile water supply, to improve foster...

Legislative leaders are weighing contingency plans for a potential fiscal "doomsday" if a slate of ballot measures designed to balance the state budget fails in the May 19 special election. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the bipartisan team of lawmakers pushing the half-dozen propositions continue to insist that the campaign has just begun and can still be won despite a recent public opinion poll showing all but one measure trailing badly. California’s “Big Five” on fixing the...But, behind the scenes, elected leaders and staffers have begun brainstorming additional budget cuts that might be necessary. That effort comes little more than a...

Top US lawmakers urged President Barack Obama in a letter Friday to open talks with Iran "as soon as possible," but warned they must yield quick results on the West's nuclear dispute with Tehran. "Engagement must be serious and credible, but it cannot be open-ended," the group, which included chairman of key House committees, wrote in the letter amid growing signs of Washington outreach to the Islamic republic.

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Members of Congress are raising the alarm that war-like conditions on the Mexican border could lead to Mexican drug cartels helping terrorists attack the U.S. “When you have…gangs and they have loose ties with al Qaeda and then you have Iran not too far away from building a nuclear capability, nuclear terrorism may not be far off,” said Rep. Trent Franks (R- Ariz.), a member of the House Armed Services committee. The Mexican drug cartels’ violence accounted for more than 6,000 deaths last year, and in recent months it has begun spilling over into the districts of lawmakers from the...

19 Georgia lawmakers behind on taxes, state report saysBy JIM THARPE The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday, February 26, 2009 Nineteen members of the state Legislature have failed to pay state and federal income taxes, some of them dating back to 2002, according to a Georgia Department of Revenue report given recently to legislative leaders. The report on the alleged tax dodgers, with names and Social Security numbers redacted, has been forwarded to Republican and Democratic leaders of the state House of Representatives and Senate. “Leaders of both parties have made it clear this will not be tolerated,” state Rep. Joe Wilkinson...

From Sacramento -- The math seems pretty simple. But apparently it's too rigorous for many Republican politicians. To avoid raising taxes and still balance the books in Sacramento, you'd have to virtually shut down state government.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US lawmakers pushing an unprecedented 789-billion-dollar plan to arrest an economic tailspin prepared Thursday for final votes Friday in time to hand President Barack Obama his biggest win yet. Facing Obama's self-imposed February 16 deadline, the Senate and House of Representatives worked to schedule decisive votes on Friday, as some aides warned of a slim chance that passage could slip to Saturday or Sunday. "We're at the doorstep of getting this plan through the Congress, but the work is not over. When we do, the challenge will shift to administering successfully this endeavor of enormous scope and...

BOPO-Napolitano

SEOUL, South Korea – Brawling South Korean lawmakers tried to sledgehammer their way into a parliamentary meeting room barricaded by the ruling party as the National Assembly descended into chaos Thursday over a free trade agreement with the United States. Opposition parties were incensed by the ruling Grand National Party's move to submit the agreement to a committee on trade, setting in motion the process for the accord to win approval in the legislature.

California voters are worried sick about the state's economy, but they don't believe Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature can work together to solve California's fiscal problems, according to a new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California. More than 70 percent of those surveyed listed the economy and the state budget as the top problems facing California, but two-thirds were unhappy with the way the state's leaders have faced the state's policy woes, including an $11.2 billion budget deficit for the current year. "With 3 out of 4 voters putting the economy and the budget on top of...

Not even fiscal crisis trumps partisan politics in California, where lawmakers remained sharply divided on a budget rescue plan Friday with time running out in this year's session. With California facing a projected two-year, $27.8 billion budget shortfall, Democrats and Republicans continued to fight over whether tax increases would make things better or worse. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders met Friday and were expected to discuss a tripling of the state's vehicle license tax in return for about $4 billion in cuts this budget year and placement of a rigid spending cap on a future ballot. When the session...

Sacramento - -- More than a dozen state lawmakers have missed much of the special legislative session called to tackle the state's fiscal mess, instead traveling to India, China and Hawaii to learn about education, high-speed rail and dams. The legislators include Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny, D-San Diego, who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, and several Assembly Budget Committee members who missed a hearing on the crisis on Friday. At least two of the lawmakers are not expected to return by Sunday's planned floor sessions of the Senate and the Assembly, their staff members said. "Obviously, they're not taking the...

SACRAMENTO – Barely a month after lawmakers passed an overdue state budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will call them back to Sacramento to tackle California's worsening economy and revenues that already are $3 billion lower than expected. The administration said the special legislative session will work on two levels, addressing the shortfall in this year's budget and debating how to stimulate California's economy. During a news conference Tuesday in Southern California, Schwarzenegger said state government should try to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure and put billions of dollars in voter-approved infrastructure bonds to use. “I think it is the best thing...

Governor wants lawmakers to lose pay By Amy Taxin LONG BEACH — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday demanded that lawmakers face consequences when they fail to pass a state budget on time, including a loss of pay and the inability to work on other bills until a spending plan is passed. Schwarzenegger’s comments came after an 85-day standoff between lawmakers over how to close a $15.2 billion deficit. The impasse was the longest in state history and put the squeeze on medical clinics, nursing homes, daycare centers and other community programs that receive state aid. The governor signed the state’s...

NEW YORK (AFP) - Wall Street blue-chip stocks suffered their worst single-day point decline Monday as markets went into convulsions after US lawmakers rejected a massive rescue of the financial system. The plunge came with investors already fretting over a deepening of banking sector problems in Europe and the United States, with at least three banks saved with government aid. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 777.68 points (6.98) percent to close at 10,365.45 in its biggest single-day point decline ever. The slide eclipsed a 684-point drop on September 17, 2001, when the markets reopened following the September 11 terror...

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—California lawmakers enjoy a perk not available to their colleagues in any other state: unchecked use of gasoline charge cards that stick taxpayers with the bill. Through the first seven months of the year, California taxpayers have spent $220,000 to pay for lawmakers' gasoline, according to a review of records requested by The Associated Press. That includes July, when lawmakers already were past their deadline to approve a budget and the state faced a $15.2 billion deficit.

Lawmakers closed a budget deal tonight that all had reason to dislike. With Republicans still opposed, the Senate voted 22-14 and the Assembly 41-30 to approve the final fix of the long overdue package. Republican leaders supported the budget deal reached Thursday, but no GOP members voted for the bill. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is expected to sign the budget next week, said the spending plan is "an improvement" over earlier versions, but still fails to solve California's structural financial problems. "Unfortunately the Legislature was unable to make the hard decisions to end our structural deficit, but this budget is...

WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve's bailout of insurance giant American International Group reminded some of the most powerful members of Congress how little power they sometimes have. The lawmakers didn't like the decision being sprung on them with no notice, but they're also happy not having the responsibility for it. “Republicans in the Congress feel like we could have had and should have had more information sooner,” Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the party's second in command in the House, said Wednesday.

SACRAMENTO -- -- Insurance companies could no longer cancel with impunity the health coverage of sick people under a measure passed Sunday in the last hour of the Legislature's session. Lawmakers also moved to require that chain restaurants tell patrons the calorie content of their food; restrict unscrupulous practices by mortgage lenders; launch state review of chemicals; ban the sale of recalled products; and give college financial assistance to illegal immigrants. The Legislature finished its work on bills Sunday, but because lawmakers have yet to agree to a budget -- it is 63 days overdue -- they will return next...