Republicans finally threw a no-new-taxes proposal on the table Monday that calls for easing the state's massive budget shortfall by cutting deeply into schools and social service programs.

The plan broke new ground by making public the GOP's vision for cutting $22 billion from a projected $40 billion shortfall over 18 months, but neither Democrats nor Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger embraced it.

"This isn't a negotiated compromise, this is a drill," said Aaron McLear, Schwarzenegger's spokesman.

"Until Republicans and Democrats start negotiating with one another on solutions the governor can support, the problem will continue to get worse every day," McLear said.

California expects to be unable to pay its bills by February or March, and fiscal officials will consider pulling the plug on $5 billion in public works projects Wednesday.

Republican Senate leader Dave Cogdill and GOP Assembly leader Mike Villines hailed their plan Monday as sticking up for taxpayers by forcing the state to live within its means.

"Raising taxes would not help the economic situation, but would only cause it more harm," Cogdill said.

Legislative committees will hold hearings on the GOP plan this week.

But criticism from leaders of the Democrat-dominated Legislature made it clear Monday that the proposal is basically dead on arrival.

"Republicans obviously don't think the time for ideology and posturing is over," said Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento.

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass said that "at first glance it appears this proposal is not the serious response this crisis requires."

A controversial program that allows longtime, undocumented immigrants to receive in-state college tuition is among those targeted by the GOP for elimination.

Sen. Gil Cedillo, a Los Angeles Democrat who chairs the Latino Legislative Caucus, said the state needs "more funds, not necessarily more cuts."

Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, a Santa Rosa Democrat who chairs the Assembly Budget Committee, said the GOP's $10.6 billion cut to schools and community colleges could wreak long-term havoc on the economy as well.

"We're at a time where we need economic stimulus – and the bedrock of a good, solid work force is schools," Evans said.

School leaders and officials of other groups targeted for cuts loudly ripped the GOP's plan.

"This would shortchange an entire generation of students," said Robin Swanson, representing a coalition of teachers, school boards and other education groups.

Courtney Pugh, executive director of the Service Employees International Union's state council, called it a "reckless plan that will hurt our economy and jeopardize our future."

The GOP plan would cut more than $10 billion from schools and community colleges, and more than $3 billion from Medi-Cal, health services, and programs for the poor, aged, blind or disabled.

Many of the Republicans' cuts had originated in plans by Schwarzenegger or Democrats – for example, a one-day-per-month furlough of state workers and elimination of two paid state holidays had been proposed by Schwarzenegger.

One new wrinkle proposed by the GOP, however, is a 5 percent reduction in the Legislature's own budget – including a cut in lawmakers' own salaries, although it could not be forced upon officeholders because an independent commission sets their pay.

Though the GOP plan would not raise taxes, it would increase state revenues $6 billion by raiding voter-approved preschool and mental health funds.

Specifically, the GOP would ask voters to redirect $3.9 billion in mental health funds from Proposition 63, approved in 2004, and $2.1 billion in preschool funds from Proposition 10, passed in 1998.

Rusty Selix, co-author of Proposition 63, said raiding mental health funds would slap voters who opted to end neglect to vulnerable citizens who were "dumped on the street when state hospitals were emptied."

Republicans also are calling for a stiff state spending cap to be placed before voters, and for the state to adopt a two-year budgeting cycle, trim waste and alter labor and environmental rules to bolster business.

The GOP contends it makes no sense to raise taxes and restock coffers without improving the state's efficiency and eliminating boom-and-bust budget cycles.

"This is a great opportunity for us to be optimistic and to change government," Villines said.

Both Schwarzenegger and legislative Democrats are pushing to bridge the huge budget gap through a combination of cuts and tax hikes.

Schwarzenegger has proposed a plan that relies partly on a temporary 1.5-cent sales tax hike, while legislative Democrats have pushed a tripling of the state's vehicle license tax.

Possible solutions

The Republican Plan

(released Monday)

Revenue: $6.5 billion, including

• $2.1 billion by asking voters to redirect Proposition 10 funds approved for early childhood programs.

• $3.9 billion by asking voters to redirect Proposition 63 funds approved for mental health programs.

• $484 million through various fund transfers and loan payment delays.

Cuts: $15.6 billion, including

• $10.6 billion cut to K-12 schools and community colleges.

• $1.3 billion by reducing grants to recipients of SSI/SSP program for low-income elderly, blind and disabled.

• $1 billion by suspending cost-of-living increase for welfare recipients, cutting grants by 10 percent and limiting eligibility.

• $802.5 million by furloughing state employees one day a month and eliminating Columbus Day and Lincoln's Birthday as paid state holidays.

• $738 million in cuts to UC and CSU by cutting 10 percent across the board, increasing student-faculty ratio and eliminating in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants.

• $716 million to Medi-Cal, including eliminating certain benefits, reducing eligibility and lowering hospital reimbursement rates.

• $459.6 million by eliminating funding for transit agencies.

• $269.5 million in cuts to In-Home Supportive Services program.

• $205 million cut to the judiciary.

• $57.4 million to prisons by expanding use of GPS for parolees.

• $26.2 million in cuts to the Legislature, including a 5 percent cut to legislators' pay.

• $85.5 million in cuts to regional centers for the developmentally disabled.

Total: $22.1 billion

The Democratic Plan

(failed in Assembly, Nov. 25)

Revenue: $8.1 billion

• $5.7 billion by restoring the vehicle license fee to 2 percent of the vehicle's depreciated value.

• $2.4 billion through an income tax increase by freezing the 2008 brackets rather than letting them adjust with inflation.

Cuts and shifts: $9 billion, including

• $4.5 billion cut to K-12 schools and community colleges.

• $657 million in savings by cutting state employee pay (details to be negotiated through collective bargaining)

• $132 million from UC and CSU.

• $656 million grant cuts to recipients of SSI/SSP program for low-income elderly, blind and disabled.

• Cut prisons $568 million

• $100 million to cuts cost of living for CalWORKS.

• $750 million General Fund cut for local law enforcement (although $510 would be restored by using special funds).

• $112 million in cuts to regional centers for the developmentally disabled.

• $156 million in local transit funds.

Total: $17.1 billion

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Plan

(Proposed Nov. 6)

Revenue: $13 billion

• $9.1 billion by raising the sales tax by 1.5 cents on the dollar for three years.

• $1.4 billion by imposing sales taxes on some services and activities that currently aren't taxed, such as golf fees, amusement parks, sporting events, veterinary treatment, and vehicle repair.

• $1.2 billion by imposing a 9.9 percent per barrel tax on oil extracted from California.

• $829 million by raising the excise tax on alcohol by 5 cents a drink.

• $451 million by raising annual vehicle registration fees by $12 per vehicle.

Cuts: $9.3 billion

• $3.2 billion by cutting K-14 education.

• $1.4 billion by reducing monthly grants to the federal minimum for low-income aged, blind and disabled on Supplemental Security Income/State Supplemental Program.

• $1 billion by reducing welfare grants by 10 percent, cutting benefits at 60 months for some recipients and requiring reviews every six months.

• $782.1 million by furloughing state employees one day a month and eliminating Columbus Day and Lincoln's Birthday as paid state holidays.

• $719.5 million to Medi-Cal by eliminating some treatment options, limiting benefits for some legal immigrants and raising the income eligibility requirements to pre-2000 levels.

• $608 million by eliminating parole supervision for all but those who have committed serious, violent or sexual crimes.

• $494 million by cutting transit grants.

• $311.3 million in cuts to in-home supportive services workers.

• $264 million in cuts from UC and CSU.

Total: $22.4 billion

– Compiled by Dan Smith, Capitol Bureau chief

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Call Jim Sanders, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5538.

• Read more articles by Jim Sanders