Senator Bob Dutton drafted this piece exclusively for FR readers, where he brings up a good point — the Governor has the power, and the responsibility to declare a state of fiscal emergency — now!
Time is “NOW” for Governor and Legislature to Deal with Budget Crisis
State Senator Bob Dutton
I applaud Governor Schwarzenegger for his recognition that the State of California is in the midst of a financial crisis. According to the LA Times, Governor Schwarzenegger ordered all state departments to identify cuts of at least 10%.
California’s deteriorating budget situation requires the governor to declare a fiscal emergency as provided for in Proposition 58. Failure to act now will only make a bad situation worse.
In 2004 the voters of California passed Propositions 57 and 58 to give us the tools and dollars needed to deal with the fiscal crisis then and now.
Under Proposition 58, if the Governor determines that the state is facing substantial revenue shortfalls he may declare a fiscal emergency. The Governor then would be required to propose legislation to address the problem.
The Legislature may not act on any other legislation until they deal with the fiscal crisis.
Shortly after the passage of the 2007-08 budget, the Finance Department indicated that the 2008-09 budget would include a deficit of $6.1 billion. Because tax receipts collected in the first two months of the fiscal year have not met expectations that projected deficit has grown substantially- to $10 billion by some estimates. If that is not a crisis, what is?
It is clear that prison overcrowding, health care, water and education are vital issues but until we get our financial house in order we don’t have the tools to solve these problems.
I represent an area that has been ravaged by forest fires. One thing I’ve seen time and time again is that during a crisis true leaders emerge. There are no easy solutions here. $10 billion dollars is real money that is going to impact the lives of real people. Waiting isn’t going to make it any easier. We must act now.
