Schwarzenegger Declares Budget Emergency

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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled an $82.9 billion state spending plan on Friday that calls for no tax hikes but envisions pay cuts for state workers, reductions in services to California’s neediest residents – and relies on the benevolence of the federal government.

The governor also declared yet another fiscal emergency, and called for yet another special session of the Legislature, designed to keep a projected $19.9 billion budget deficit from growing by another $2.4 billion.

“I know that the budget I have laid out today is difficult and it is painful,” Schwarzenegger told reporters and others gathered in an auditorium at the secretary of state’s office. “But California is resilient, and we know that we will once again get through these tough challenges.”

The governor is proposing a three-part deficit-closing solution: $8.5 billion in spending cuts, $4.5 billion in “revenue shifts,” some of which were rejected by voters last year, and $6.9 billion in additional money from the federal government. If state leaders are unsuccessful in coaxing the additional money out of Washington, the gap would be closed with additional cuts that include eliminating some social service programs entirely, and imposing an additional pay cut on state employees.

• Read the full Sacramento Bee story.

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