February 26, 2008

Perata puts Romero on budget committee

Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata said he is putting Sen. Gloria Romero on the budget panel after he stripped Sen. Joe Simitian of the seat.

Perata also broke his silence on why he's been tinkering with Simitian's assignments since Simitian suggested two weeks ago the possibility of recalculating the school funding base.

"On that committee he was creating a condition that spent more time talking about philosophy than the things that needed to get done," Perata said Tuesday. "You know, we just made a decision that, at this time, this is not the best place for him to be. He has no objection to that."

Perata first stripped him of his chairmanship of the Environmental Quality Committee. That was restored Monday, but he was pulled from the budget panel.

Perata said he still respects Simitian.

The budget committee will meet later today with Legislative Analyst Liz Hill.

Posted by Judy Lin on February 26, 2008 11:03 AM