While the state Senate is on 24-hour call and both houses are set to return to the Capitol next week to ponder the four-week-delayed state budget, the chances of its actually passing soon are slim to none - and don't bet on slim. Still, the 2008-09 version of the state spending plan will have to crawl along for quite a while yet to make the list of the five latest state budgets of all time.
1. FISCAL YEAR: 2002-2003
Governor: Gray Davis
Date Signed: Sept. 5, 2002
Why the delay? The Senate approved the budget in June, but Assembly Republicans held out until Democrats agreed to remove proposals to hike tobacco taxes and vehicle license fees. In return, GOP legislators agreed to borrowing from special funds and "revenue enhancements" that suspended some business and investor tax breaks.
2. FISCAL YEAR: 1992-1993
Governor: Pete Wilson
Date Signed: Sept. 2, 1992
Why the delay? Burned by having approved tax increases the year before, Wilson vowed he wouldn't do it again. He and GOP legislators also objected to a plan to "roll over" some of the budget debt into the next fiscal year. After weeks of haggling in both houses, a budget was approved that made deep cuts in health, welfare and education programs, as well as in aid to local governments.
3. FISCAL YEAR: 2007-2008
Governor: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Date Signed: Aug. 24, 2007
Why the delay? The Assembly passed the budget in late July, but Senate Republicans held out until the governor promised to cut $700 million from the budget legislators sent him. Schwarzenegger did so, but the budget was in the red within a few months anyway, as spending continued to outstrip revenues.
4. FISCAL YEAR: 1998-1999
Governor: Pete Wilson
Signed: Aug. 21, 1998
Why the delay? For once, the argument was over an embarrassment of revenues. A booming economy prompted Wilson to call for deep tax cuts, while Democratic legislators wanted some of the surplus spent on various programs. Wilson eventually got his way, signing a budget that contained $1.4 billion in tax relief and vetoing $1.5 billion in mostly Democratic-added spending.
5. FISCAL YEAR: 1997-1998
Governor: Pete Wilson
Date Signed: Aug. 18, 1997
Why the delay? A host of peripheral issues slowed things down, include spats over statewide student performance testing, welfare reform, a proposal by Wilson to cut income tax rates and paying back money borrowed from state pension funds to balance earlier budgets.
Sources: State Department of Finance, Bee research
Call Steve Wiegand, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 321-1076
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