Governor Brown Details New Budget Plan
Sacramento, CA — California Governor Jerry Brown delivered his $132-billion proposed budget to the legislature this week.
The Governor’s speech detailing the budget is featured during this morning’s KVML Newsmaker of the Day segment. Brown calls it a “prudent budget,” which sets aside money in the event of upcoming recessions.
Local lawmakers are reacting to the budget. Republican Board of Equalization member George Runner, who represents the Mother Lode, says, “It’s a smart move by the governor to boost the state’s rainy day fund (by $10-billion), since as he warns, the threat of a recession still looms, and California is still very much vulnerable to boom-and-bust budgeting. However, since members of his own party are suddenly and surprisingly concerned about taxpayers, it would be great if the governor would use the budget process to work with Republicans to come up with ways to reduce the overall tax burden of California residents, which is very high. The governor could start by refunding the money to Californians who paid the now suspended fire prevention fee, and by reconsidering the need for his catastrophic gas tax hike.”
Republican Senator Tom Berryhill, who represents district eight, says, “Governor Brown’s budget only proves what Republicans have been saying all along: Taxes are too darn high. Instead of spending the significant surplus on new government programs that will only lead to even higher taxes in down years, let’s at least put the money to good use by paying down pension debt, investing in local communities and protecting against economic downturns in the future.”
Democratic Senate Pro Tempore Kevin de Leon, comments, “For the last several years, we have been fortunate to invest in California and its citizens, while at the same time building up a strong budget reserve to insulate from future downturns. I applaud the Governor for bringing our budget reserve to 10% of the total state budget. The Senate is committed to protecting that progress, and building for the future with this budget. For the Senate, that means investing in our K-12 schools — especially by fully funding our Local Control Funding Formula to help close the achievement gap in our state. We want to continue our progress on college affordability to help more students graduate on time and with as little debt as possible – including funding free community college and providing more financial aid to incentivize students to complete a degree in a timely manner.”
