CA Budget Briefs

The Legislature got its first official look at Governor Brown’s spending plan, Berryhill questioned the following areas:

· Job creation: California’s unemployment rate remains close to 9 percent. In my area, the Central Valley and other rural areas, it is even higher. Clearly, we need to do much more to get all Californians the jobs they need. People are hurting for work. This budget doesn’t appear to address job creation or the regulatory reforms that will help businesses grow and get people back to work.

· Revisiting Rainy Day: ACA 4 passed with bipartisan support in 2010 and is good, solid policy that protects the state during economic downturns. Why are we revisiting it? My fear is that this is really about weakening what was already agreed to – and that is not a good idea.

· Prison Realignment: My local law enforcement has not been shy about telling me they are struggling under the shift of state criminals to local facilities. I think this budget falls short on addressing this too.

“It became obvious today that legislative Democrats are more interested in reducing the Governor’s debt repayment plan, increasing new state spending and raising the corporate tax rate,” said Berryhill. “I wonder what happened to fiscal restraint and the importance of a rainy day fund?”