Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger greeted a new legislative class Monday by calling two immediate special sessions to deal with this fiscal year's $11.2 billion budget shortfall and the state's economic slowdown.
The fresh start of a new two-year legislative session did little to bridge the ongoing divide between Republicans and Democrats over tax increases or cutting protections for Democratic priorities, however.
Republican leaders continued to oppose new taxes, while Democrats reacted coldly to proposed rollbacks in environmental and labor regulations that Schwarzenegger said should be part of any budget package he signs.
After the lame-duck Legislature failed to act last month, the Republican governor said Monday the new group of lawmakers would have to find an additional $1.5 billion to $2 billion in tax hikes or spending cuts beyond those he proposed, assuming their plan would not take effect until February.
Schwarzenegger, who could not fly in his private plane to Sacramento because the capital city was shrouded in morning fog, warned that lawmakers must resolve their differences immediately or else risk the state running out of cash early next year.
"I compare the situation that we are in right now to finding an accident victim on the side of the road that is bleeding to death," Schwarzenegger said from his Los Angeles office. "We wouldn't spend hours debating over which ambulance we should use, or which hospital we would use, or which treatment the patient needs."
The governor warned that without legislative action, the state could begin laying off state employees. Spokesman Aaron McLear said Schwarzenegger plans to discuss contingency plans for preserving cash, including the potential timing and quantity of layoffs, once he returns from a meeting today in Philadelphia with President-elect Barack Obama and governors.
New Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, promised "a needed shot of adrenaline" in his first floor speech as Senate leader. He announced plans to appoint all 40 state senators to the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee.
Steinberg later explained the move would force more budget discussions to take place in public rather than behind closed doors among legislative leaders in the Governor's Office. He also said it would hold all lawmakers accountable.
Steinberg said he supports having the state budget in print 24 hours before a floor vote. During the failed budget vote last week, some lawmakers complained they had only seen the plan hours before.
After lawmakers set a new tardiness record this year for passing a $103.4 billion general fund budget in late September, Steinberg said the Legislature should plan to approve its next spending plan by May 15, a full month before the state's constitutional deadline.
Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines acknowledged the state needs new revenue to make up its current budget gap, but he disputed that new taxes should be used. He said the state should cut government waste and find ways to get more money from public assets.
"If we didn't have all these laws and bureaucracies in place, we could be privatizing roads right now and taking royalties from that," Villines said. "So there are a lot of things we could do."
Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, announced both houses will convene a rare joint session in the next 10 days in which state Treasurer Bill Lockyer and other financial authorities will outline the depths of the state's budget problems.
Democrats gained three Assembly seats last month, three short of what's needed to pass a budget.
Both Democratic leaders said they have strong objections to economic stimulus proposals such as removing limits on eight-hour workdays and allowing construction projects to avoid full environmental scrutiny. Though Schwarzenegger said last week he would have vetoed a package without such changes, Bass insisted Monday the governor would have signed it if the Legislature had sent it to him.
Call Kevin Yamamura, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5548. Jim Sanders and Dan Smith of The Bee Capitol Bureau contributed to this report.
