As I write this it is still unclear whether California will be able to avoid issuing IOUs because of the cash crisis brought about by the national recession and a $19.5 billion budget deficit. It would be a shame if that were to happen, especially after Democrats in the Legislature gave Governor Schwarzenegger plenty of responsible options to avoid IOUs.
The Assembly and Senate sent the Governor a comprehensive package of cuts, revenues and other solutions that would have resolved the entire deficit, left a healthy reserve and avoided a cash crisis and IOUs.
While I am still hopeful an agreement can be reached before the buzzer sounds on the fiscal year, the outlook on that is uncertain.
What is certain is that throughout the process, my Democratic colleagues and I fought the worst aspects of governor’s budget, specifically his outlandish proposals to totally abolish the safety net in California.
