State budget drowning in red ink for next yearWyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Thursday, November 19, 2009
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(11-19) 04:00 PST
Sacramento -- California again is facing a mammoth budget deficit and the prospect of more severe cuts to state services, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office warned in a report released Wednesday.
Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor said the state will face a $20.7 billion deficit next year and that the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger need to start work to fill that gap "as soon as possible." He also noted that many one-time fixes state leaders have relied on in the past to close deficits are not available. The state will face $20 billion annual deficits through 2015 if permanent fixes are not made, he warned.
The dire news comes only four months after lawmakers approved a controversial plan to close a $24 billion shortfall in the current fiscal year, which began July 1. That plan, signed by the governor on July 28, relied on state worker furloughs, partial closures of state parks, and funding cuts to the California State University and University of California systems and many health and welfare programs.
Another battleThe state's inability to realize some of the elements of its July plan, however, has contributed to the new deficit, Taylor said.
"Coming on the heels of a really monumental problem ... it's hard to imagine that we'd have as difficult a budget year coming up," Taylor said. ...........(more)
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