At a time that common-sense legislators and a philosophy of full accountability are calling for opening up the budget process to the eyes of the public, the powers that be still can’t even find a way to open it up to those being asked to vote.
If you haven’t read Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries’ press release about the lack of openness, it pretty much provides a dose of reality on the subject (see Jon’s commentary this morning, four posts below, for the Jeffries release).
An update from Jeffries’ office this morning:
"Assembly just got the information on the 2009-10 State Budget at 10:25 am; almost an hour and a half after floor session started."
It would be comical, if it weren’t so typically status-quo.
June 24th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Clarity from Jeffries’ office:
“Actually, the GOP caucus got the actual language last night to analyze. But member staff did not get the info from the floor until this morning.”
Wow, that’s a great relief. The GOP legislators had all night to read it, without the benefit of any staff analysis. No excuses! Not.