When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ripped legislators Wednesday for taking time off despite the budget crisis, or earning per diem while making no progress on a deal, there's one thing he forgot to mention:
The governor squeezed in three fundraising events last week -- two in Sacramento, one in the Bay Area -- despite the state's failure to pass a spending plan more than two months after the start of the fiscal year.
Money raised from the events will support the governor's legislative and ballot initiative agenda, including a November ballot measure to alter how the state's political districts are drawn, spokeswoman Julie Soderlund said.
But Schwarzenegger canceled plans to appear this week at the Republican National Convention and he is "100 percent focused on getting the budget done," Soderlund said.
"He has canceled out-of-state travel plans, and he's been in Sacramento, focused on getting the budget done," she added. "He hopes that lawmakers will (engage) in that process with him."
Soderlund said the governor's compromise proposal -- anchored by a 1-cent sales tax increase that would fall to below current levels after three years -- is a sensible proposal that "takes ideas from both parties and moves the discussion forward."
"It's unacceptable to the governor that more than 60 days after the start of the fiscal year, there's not a budget in place," she said. "And he's focused on that."
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