Gov. Brown and Democratic Legislative Leaders Announce Budget Deal

Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic legislative leaders announced a budget plan June 27 that assumes the state will collect $4 billion more in revenues this year than expected, averting sharp cuts.

A key part of the deal includes keeping state support for public schools at $49.7 billion rather than increasing funding by $3 billion as the Democratic governor proposed in the revised budget he submitted to lawmakers in May.    Read more »

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June Tax Collections Offer Some Good News for Budget Writers

With nine days left in the month, June income tax collections are running $400 million over the amount expected in Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget released in May.

Brown’s Department of Finance predicted the Franchise Tax Board would collect $3.2 billion for the month. Through June 21, the board has logged more than $3.6 billion.    Read more »

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Controller Finds Budget Passed June 15 Is Not Balanced

SACRAMENTO – State Controller John Chiang today announced that his analysis of the state budget vetoed last week shows the spending plan was incomplete and unbalanced. His analysis sought to determine whether the budget met the requirements of Proposition 25 and Proposition 58, which forfeit Legislative pay if a balanced budget is not passed by June 15.    Read more »

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Even if There’s a Budget Vote Soon, There Still Might Not Be Enough Time to Extend the Sales Tax

An extension of a 1 percent sales tax rate past its June 30 expiration as part of a budget deal may be not be feasible, according to a letter to legislative leaders from the Board of equalization.

In a June 6 letter, the board told legislative leaders that the shortest time to change a tax rate in the past was 15 days.    Read more »

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Three Years of the State Cutting Its Support Can’t Be Helping

The number of school districts in financial jeopardy increased by 33 to 143 over the past three months, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced June 17.

That’s almost 14 percent of the state’s 1,032 districts and county offices of education.

“These numbers underscore how urgently school districts across California need a balanced state budget in place that provides a full year of stable funding for education,” Torlakson said in press release announcing the increased numbers.    Read more »

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Brown Stumps For Legislative Support of Temporary Tax Extension

Two days before the Legislature’s often-missed deadline to pass a budget, Gov. Jerry Brown took his case to the court of public opinion attempting to push a handful of Republicans to vote for an extension of temporary taxes set to expire in two weeks.

Backed by a diverse coalition of business groups, educators, labor and law enforcement Brown called on lawmakers to pass the plan he proposed or “something very close to it” and do it soon.    Read more »

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No Doubt Just a Coincidence This Budget Issue Is in the Districts of GOP Sen. Bill Emmerson and Assemblyman Brian Nestande

University of California at Riverside Med School Stalled Over Funding

National Medical Committee Withholds Preliminary Accreditation for UC Riverside Medical School.

10:51 PM PDT on Wednesday, June 8, 2011

By LORA HINES, The Press-Enterprise

Preliminary accreditation for UC Riverside’s proposed medical school is on hold because the state has not budgeted ongoing money to fund it, university officials said Wednesday.    Read more »

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Higher-than-Expected Local Property Taxes Good for Schools and the State

One bit of economic good news in Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised spending plan released May 16 :

Local property revenues dedicated to public schools are $626 million higher than anticipated.

That has a benefit for the state budget as well.

The more local property taxes there are available for schools, the less the state has to contribute.    Read more »

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The Secret is Out About California’s New Job Tax Credit

Among Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposals in his revised budget is to modify a $3,000 credit small businesses can take if they hire a new employee.

The Democratic governor says the credit appears to be “substantially underutilized.

Indeed, Brown notes that some of the $400 million earmarked by lawmakers and former Gov.    Read more »

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Gov. Jerry Brown’s Plan to Take $744 Million Worth of Bricks Out of the “Wall of Debt”

In taking a chip out of what he calls a $35 billion “Wall of Debt,” Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget would speed repayment of $744 million raked off of various funds whose cash comes from fees and not general tax revenue.

When he rejected the Schwarzenegger administration’s plan to sell 11 state office buildings, the Democratic governor borrowed $830 million from 48 pots outside the state’s cash-starved general fund.    Read more »

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