Already struggling to pay the state's current bills, California lawmakers took a sledgehammer Thursday to hundreds of proposals for new money-spending programs totaling billions of dollars.

The message was simple: Coffers of the nation's largest state are bare.

A torrent of legislation with a cumulative price tag of nearly $213.5 billion annually was reduced to a veritable trickle that would cost the state's general fund about $9.3 million annually if all bills ultimately become law.

Victims included the most expensive legislative proposal of all, Senate Bill 810, which called for creation of a state-run system to provide health care to every Californian at an estimated cost of $210 billion per year.

"We recognize the fiscal situation in California, and as much as we would love to be doing new and different things in California, we simply don't have the money," said Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento.

Republicans agreed.

"What this Legislature has lacked in the last 10 years is fiscal responsibility," said Sen. Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks. "It came closer to that today than at any time since I've been here."

Bills rejected Thursday included proposals to bill the federal government for the cost of incarcerating illegal immigrants who commit crimes, order employers to provide paid sick leave, and require that state workers continue to be paid if lawmakers fail to pass a budget on time.

The Assembly and Senate appropriations committees accomplished the fiscal blood-letting to meet today's deadline for deciding which money-spending ideas will proceed to a floor vote.

The two powerful committees collectively passed slightly more than half of the 634 bills on their agendas, but survivors tended to seek relatively meager amounts from the state's general fund, which bankrolls most basic state services.

By comparison, in the past decade, the Assembly Appropriations Committee has approved an average of $644 million each year in legislation affecting the general fund. Thursday's total was $5.9 million, officials said.

"My primary concern right now is the devastating cuts to existing programs, so my focus is not on new programs," said Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles.

While the burden on California's general fund is the factor most closely watched at the Capitol because of potential impact on basic services, some of the bills that survived Thursday targeted other sources of funding.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved nearly $12 million in proposals that would be funded by bonds, federal revenue or special funds, such as gas taxes or user fees, that can be used only for specific types of programs. Figures for the Assembly were unavailable Thursday.

Legislation that survived Thursday still has a long road ahead. For example, a bill passed by the Assembly Appropriations Committee faces future votes on the Assembly floor, in Senate committees, and on the Senate floor before Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger can sign or veto it.

Estimates of state costs for pending legislation are not foolproof and can be far off the mark, depending upon future events.

One bill passed by the Assembly Appropriations Committee, AB 155, does not carry significant immediate costs, but a committee analysis warns that the legislation could expose the state to legal liability totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. AB 155 would require cities, counties and special districts to get state approval before filing for bankruptcy, an action that could nullify existing labor contracts. Opponents contend the state could face lawsuits and massive liability for turning thumbs down to a nearly insolvent public agency.

Legislation passed Thursday by legislative appropriations committees included measures to impose tighter spay and neuter restrictions on pet owners, add motorcycles built since 2000 to the state's smog-check program, and require maternity coverage in health insurance.

Shelved were proposals to grant college tuition and fee waivers to California National Guard members, expand a presumption that cancers acquired by peace officers and firefighters are work-related, provide a sales tax exemption for the purchase of electric vehicles, and require health-care policies to insure dependents until age 27.

Bills rejected by the appropriations committees are not necessarily dead. They are likely to be reconsidered next year.

Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber, said the hundreds of bills before the appropriations committees Thursday proves that, despite the state's projected $24.3 billion shortfall, there is "no dearth of people who want to spend."

But Nielsen was pleased by Thursday's belt-tightening.

"To those influences out there who have wonderful ideas, noble ideas, the message is: Back off," he said. "We've got to get this budget under control."

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