For the past three years, California
’s spending has been out of control. In just 36 months, the
state went from the largest surplus in its history to near
bankruptcy. My Republican colleagues and I saw this fiscal train
wreck coming, and warned anyone who would listen that if we didn’t
control our spending, we would be in a very
precarious situation.
For the past three years, California’s spending has been out of control. In just 36 months, the state went from the largest surplus in its history to near bankruptcy. My Republican colleagues and I saw this fiscal train wreck coming, and warned anyone who would listen that if we didn’t control our spending, we would be in a very precarious situation.
Regrettably, that day is now here. But instead of saying “Hey, we didn’t create the problem, somebody else has to fix it,” Senate Republicans are working to fix our state’s budget mess.
We have presented a budget plan that is balanced, contains no tax or fee increases, and deals with the long-term structural deficit of California.
Our proposal requires California to live within its means and does so without tax increases. This proposal requires a seven-percent, across-the-board reduction in spending in addition to what the governor has proposed. This balanced budget proposal also requires a two-year spending freeze.
There’s not a family in California who doesn’t understand that they have to live within their means. The State of California needs to learn the same lesson.
The Senate Republican plan also minimizes the impact on local government, and does so without tripling California’s car tax as many liberals in the legislature are urging.
The governor’s budget proposes more than $1.7 billion in reductions to local government this year and more than $3 billion in reduction to local government in the 2003-2004 budget year. Senate Republicans propose less than a one-third of this amount this year, and less than one-sixth next year.
We understand that the budget deficit is so great that we can’t balance this budget without a local government contribution. But we believe it ought to be time-limited – in this case, three years. We also believe that local governments should have a say in how they contribute.
And, we ought to guarantee that Sacramento will never again penalize local government for Sacramento’s reckless spending. That’s why Senate Republicans insist on a constitutional amendment to guarantee that never again can the state of California take money from local government.
A $34 billion deficit is so great that it cannot be responsibly closed in one year. In addition to the spending freeze and the seven-percent across-the-board cuts, we propose that a very small portion of the current deficit be carried over to the 2004-2005 budget year before it is eliminated. If we do this, we will leave the state with a $700 million surplus at the end of the second year.
There’s not a responsible member of the legislature who doesn’t understand that we must reduce spending. We’ve already made some reductions, and we know we’re going to have to make more.
The next step is to lower the rhetoric in the Capitol, stop the finger-pointing and get about the business of fixing California’s fiscal health. That’s what the Senate Republican budget plan is designed to do.
For more information on the Senate GOP plan to balance the budget without raising taxes, go to our website at republican.sen. ca.gov and link to publications.
For more information on the Senate GOP plan to balance the budget without raising taxes, go to our website at republican.sen.ca.gov and link to publications.
Sen. James l. Brulte
