Lawmakers Pass Budget

Sacramento, CA — California lawmakers passed a new budget last night.

It relies on spending cuts, a projected $4 billion rise in tax revenue, and fee increases to close the deficit. Governor Jerry Brown and Democratic leaders passed the budget on a party-line vote, and dropped their proposal to increase temporary tax extensions set to expire on Friday.

District 14 Republican Senator Tom Berryhill, and a small group of other Republicans, had been pushing for a package of regulatory and pension reforms in exchange for a vote on the tax extensions. “The overall package included real pension reform, a spending cap that paid down $34 billion in deficit, while protecting education,” states Berryhill. “Regulatory reform and CEQA streamlining would have helped stabilize our economy, and in fact, would have even encouraged business expansion in the state of California.”

Governor Jerry Brown states, “Democrats in the California State Legislature made tough choices and delivered an honest, balanced and on-time budget that contains painful cuts and brings government closer to the people through an historic realignment. Putting our state on a sound and sustainable fiscal footing still requires much work, but we have now taken a huge step forward.”

The budget cuts additional funding from Universities, state courts, and closes 70 state parks, including Railtown 1897.