The state Assembly has scheduled a floor session for 9 a.m. Saturday to vote on the state budget, just as 75,000 to 100,000 spectators are expected to converge on the state Capitol for the prologue of the Tour of California bicycle race.
Lawmakers won't be able to drive out of the Capitol basement garage between 1 to 4 p.m. because the exit empties onto the race course, said Assembly Chief Administrative Officer Jon Waldie. The race is supposed to set record attendance numbers for cycling in Sacramento because the event occurs on a weekend and marks the return of seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.
"As long as they're not racing in the building, it'll be fine," Waldie said.
Shannon Murphy, spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, said the vote is scheduled for Saturday because legislative aides could not finish writing the 2,000-page budget bill by Friday night. She did not know whether the floor session would end before 1 p.m., when the streets are closed.
Sources close to negotiations said Wednesday that they expected both houses to vote Friday and that leaders were mindful of the fact that Saturday could be a logistical headache. The Senate has yet to schedule its floor session.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders struck a tentative deal late Tuesday to close the state's estimated $40 billion budget deficit through June 2010, sources said. The plan relies on $15.8 billion in spending cuts, $14.3 billion in tax hikes and $10.9 billion in borrowing.
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