Well, we just adjourned a bit ago, losing a chance to make some positive history, passing the budget by the true constititional deadline.
The June 15 constitutional deadline will expire at midnight on the $100,000,000,000.00+ California State Budget proposal with no action over on the Senate floor or on our side on the Assembly floor. The sticking points being cutting back over a billion in late spending additions and the inclusion of $24 million for health care benefits for children of illegal immigrants…the latter being a huge philosophical problem for Republicans and a non-starter for pretty much any Republican support of a budget proposal with such funding in it.
The trouble is both sides know that the 2/3’s vote required to pass the budget won’t happen with that in there. Potentially, it could’ve been on time without this game being played but the mentality is that the effective deadline is really June 30 as after that, people, state employees, contractors with the state, start not to be paid on July 1 and the complaining then moves the legislature to act.
The fight over the illegal immigrant children health care funding can be a big nasty one, starting up the whole nonsensical debate of Prop 187 being about hate and racism again or it can be run back down the flagpole and discussed rationally outside of this budget process amid some true reforms of immigration policy. Either way, I don’t see much support from my perspective for this expenditure of $24 million when for example, veterans have to fight tooth and nail to get health care they were promised when they put on the uniform to defend our nation and its borders.
Too bad. Posturing has cost us a chance to be on time for once. Let’s get real here and finish this budget out constructively and somewhat timely.