This Week Inside the Capitol

 “A Fragile Hope” for Fiscal Solutions

by Rebecca Burgoyne, 
CFC Research Analyst

Asked what the biggest problem facing California is, in a recent Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) survey, 34 percent answered jobs and the economy. Of likely voters, a record high 35 percent claimed that the budget and taxes were the biggest problem on which legislators should focus. Fiscal issues have certainly risen to the top in the minds of Californians.

Concerns about household finances, inflation, and taxes have especially plagued Californians in the past few recession-dominated years. Yet despite a growing state deficit, legislators were content to willfully ignore the growing problem and chose instead to punt the problem into the future, papering over budgets with accounting gimmicks, red ink, and borrowing. 

From the get-go, Governor Jerry Brown has focused on the budget, and voters seem more willing to listen to his solutions. With less than a month in office under his belt, 41 percent of Californians approve of both the job he is doing as governor and his solutions – a mixture of cuts and tax extensions – to tackle the $25.4 billion deficit. A strong majority of Californians support his decision to go to the voters with his plan, even if they don’t support the plan itself. 

In his State of the State address tonight at 5:00, Brown should provide us with more information about his plans for bringing California’s budget into the black. The address will be televised (consult your local channel guide), and can be watched online at http://www.calchannel.com.

On January 20, Governor Brown declared a fiscal emergency, reiterating former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s attempt to get legislators to focus on the budget. That act starts a legislative special session (in this case concurrent with the regular session). Constitutionally, should legislators not send the governor a budget bill within 45 days, they are prohibited from adjourning or from considering non-budget legislation. [Art. IV., §10(f)]

Meanwhile, the Legislature is humming with budget subcommittee meetings – dozens scheduled in the Senate and the Assembly over the next few weeks. With the budget as a backdrop, other legislative proposals are trickling in – many relating to budget solutions – in anticipation of the February 18 deadline for bill introductions. California Family Council is tracking bills and will keep you informed of those of interest to you and your families.  

While Californians seem more hopeful that Governor Brown can work with the Legislature to craft a real fiscal solution, that hope is a “fragile” one, according to Mark Baldassare, PPIC CEO and director of the recent survey. Brown’s solution, which he pegs as half cuts and half taxes, is complicated, and as Californians begin to get a clearer picture of what they are being asked to approve, initial support may wane. In the words of Baldassare, “Californians are beginning to feel more hopeful—that the economy is improving, that the governor and legislature can get something done. But that hope is fragile and could dissolve quickly. The challenge for Brown is to convince Californians that his complex budget plan is a real solution to the state’s fiscal troubles.”