Governor Jerry Brown and state Democratic lawmakers announced Monday they have reached a deal on a budget that would not require tax extensions to bridge the state's $9.6 billion deficit. The plan relies on an anticipated $4 billion in additional revenue and will trigger deep cuts to many programs if that revenue drops below $3 billion.
"Going forward, we expect more revenues in the budget year coming up. But in case we're over-optimistic, we have severe trigger cuts that will be triggers and will go into effect. Those are real," Brown said at a news conference Monday afternoon.
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He called the plan "the most austere fiscal blueprint California has seen in more than a generation." Steinberg said, "The budget implements more than 12 billion in harsh, real cuts, in addition to the possibility of an additional 2.6 billion dollars in cuts as part of the trigger."
In a statement, Senate Republican leader Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga) criticized the Democrats plan. He said, "Californians deserve better than the ‘Hope without Change' budget the Democrats announced today. This latest budget is based on the hope that $4 billion in new revenues will miraculously materialize, but does absolutely nothing to change government as usual."
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Because the Legislature did not approve a sales tax extension, the state's sales tax will drop by 1% on July 1.
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