Without a State Budget: Day 70 (Let’s get it on!)

September 8th, 2008, 4:47 am · Post a Comment · posted by BRIAN JOSEPH, Sacramento Correspondent

After about a week of waiting, the big day is finally here: the state Senate is expected to meet at 2 p.m. today to discuss the GOP’s budget plan. I, for one, am all a twitter, but other developments may overshadow the day. On Friday, the California Taxpayers’ Association broke with its anti-tax past and announced its endorsement of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s budget proposal, which includes a temporary increase to the sales tax. The anti-tax, legislative Republicans are going to try to push their no-tax budget, but with one of the leading voices against taxes supporting the governor’s plan, does this undercut GOP before the debate even begins? We’ll see.And speaking of undercutting, there’s a report circulating that the prison guards union is thinking about starting a campaign to recall the governor. Arnold, of course, rode into office after Gov. Gray Davis was recalled following the longest budget impasse in recent history — a record, Schwarzenegger officially topped on Saturday. Did I forget to mention that? On Saturday, this budget impasse officially became the longest. Previously, the latest the state had a signed budget was Sept. 5. So, let’s get on with the debate!

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