Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today praised a new Democratic version of the state budget as "very courageous" and urged Republican senators to vote for it.
Schwarzenegger was 500 miles away in San Diego, campaigning against any budget that relies on borrowing money from local governments and transportation funds, as the Senate began debating the new Democratic version. He issued his words of praise in response to a reporter's question.
The new Senate Democratic version is based on Schwarzenegger's own latest proposal to break a near-record-long stalemate, with its centerpiece being a one-cent increase in the state sales tax for three years. Its chief difference is that Schwarzenegger would reduce the sales tax below the current after the three-year period while Democrats would merely end the extra penny without a further decrease.
Schwarzenegger stopped short of saying he would sign the new version.
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