Efforts under way to unravel California's budget

Sacramento Bee ^ | 8/4/11 | Kevin Yamamura

[SmithL]

Gov. Jerry Brown signed the state budget five weeks ago, but the battle over spending cuts and fees rages on outside the state Capitol.

In the latest bid to unravel the $85.9 billion general fund budget, advocates for doctors, insurers and low-income patients will ask federal officials in Washington today to reject $1.3 billion in Medi-Cal cuts they say will hurt the most vulnerable Californians.

Cities last month asked the California Supreme Court to halt a $1.7 billion state overhaul of redevelopment agencies. Amazon.com is gathering signatures to reverse a $200 million budget bill requiring online sales tax collection. Sen. Ted Gaines, R-Roseville, filed a referendum to block a $150 annual fire fee on rural homeowners.

As has been the case in recent lean budget years, groups that lose in the annual Capitol budget fight are not walking away quietly. For them, the governor's signature signals a shift in venue rather than the final word.

Brown, a Democrat, has claimed credit for reducing the state's recurring budget deficit down to roughly $3 billion next year. But legal and federal challenges, if successful, could more than double that gap.

Advocates say the governor and lawmakers are to blame for solving the state budget with solutions that are illegal. Doing so, they say, allows the state to meet its balanced budget requirement on paper and borrow money from Wall Street, while pushing some of the deficit into next year.

"It's a chronic budgeting practice," said Dustin Corcoran, CEO of the California Medical Association, which represents more than 35,000 physicians around the state. "They say this so they can score savings, but there's no way they can implement it."

[SmithL]

Smoke & Mirrors still won't work. But the budget passed by the Democrats does ensure that the Legislature gets paid, and after all, that's the most important consideration.

[wac3rd]

Most vulnerable = illegal aliens, aka future Democratic voters

[Steel Wolf]

The budget is already plenty unraveled, thank you. Jerry Brown has as much chance to save California from itself as a fat kid with a bucket of KFC has of outrunning a hungry leopard.

The only enjoyable thing about this scene is the slowly dawning expression of realization of how screwed we are that occasionally crosses his face. He gets it, he just can't process it. Liberalism destroyed California = Does Not Compute.

[EGPWS]

But the budget passed by the Democrats does ensure that the Legislature gets paid, and after all, that's the most important consideration.

Well, a wounded bank robber gang member would guarantee a stifled robbery.

They must stay in shape to keep the robbery going to support their criminal habits.

[newzjunkey]

This will just embolden the calls for "more revenues" in the highest taxes state in the nation, highest unemployment rate in the nation.

*gag*

[GeronL]

Amazon closed a distribution center in my town because Texas wanted to collect taxes on thing sold to other states.