In the latest episode of As the Budget Churns, last night Democrats in the California legislature passed a budget but received no Republican votes for it. The budget that passed was typical for the last few years: Full of gimmicks and borrowing, in theory it closed a $10 billion deficit; however, it really didn’t.
Democratic Governor Jerry Brown promised he would veto such a budget. He did so today.
Republicans in the legislature want pension reform; Democrats are beholden to union interests and don’t want pension reform. As usual, the unstoppable force is meeting the immovable object with the normal result: Nothing happens.
There are some new wrinkles. Proposition 25, passed last November by voters, stated that the legislature would have its pay docked if they didn’t pass a budget by June 15th. Well, they passed a budget…but one that might have been unconstitutional (and it was vetoed, too). We’ll have to see if pay is docked but I’m betting it won’t be.
Assuming that’s the case, there’s no pressure on Democrats…until California starts issuing registered warrants (IOUs). That might happen in July.
So don’t forget to tune in next week for yet another exciting episode of As the Budget Churns!
Tags: 2011CalBudget