[Editor’s Note: Mr. Rice is a lobbyist for City Hall.]
Dateline Sacramento — We have been able to verify that the state Senate is preparing to take votes on the fate of Redevelopment Agencies on Wednesday.
Our sources are telling us it will be the two-bill package that the Assembly Democrats considered in their caucus last week (and were actually talking again about yesterday).
It appears that the Senate is pressing ahead with a complete balanced budget vote on Wednesday, even considering the possibility of passing a budget with only majority Democrats (meaning NO tax bridge, NO special election and NO taxes).
The Senate seems intent on passing a budget by the Constitutional deadline. I was also told that the Senate is doing this on their own, in the absence of a “global” agreement with the Assembly and the Governor.
Details on what exactly will be in the budget are not known….not even by all the Democratic members. We expect further clarity today after the Senate Democrats caucus.
As in all budget negotiations, this is still a very fluid environment. Any and all of these variables can change at any point in time.
Most Recent Session
The Senate began session last Saturday promptly at 10 a.m., just as advertised. They passed three non-controversial measures, and then the Democrats went into caucus to determine how they want to handle the various budget scenarios.
Their first priority is to continue to try and negotiate with a few Republicans to try to not only get a special election on taxes, but also a vote to temporarily extend the taxes that are set to expire at the end of this month.
In the Democrats' perfect world, they would like this type of a deal to come together sooner than later.
However, many legislators are beginning to question if that goal is little more than a pipe dream. They are starting to seriously consider alternatives to that type of budget plan.
The extreme opposite of an extension of taxes is an all-cuts budget… and that's exactly one of the major topics of discussion that was held in the caucus. Some of the more liberal members of the caucus actually met amongst themselves even before their legislation session to determine if they were prepared to go along with a budget that cut deeply from some of their highest priorities, i.e. education, social services and health and human services.
It was decided amongst that small cadre that they just aren't comfortable casting that type of vote yet, but they may have to come to terms with that type of vote if budget negotiations stall out any further.
Obviously, in between these two extremes is a budget that has a few cuts, maybe some revenue enhancements through a majority vote, and perhaps some lofty revenue figures. The Governor has said he does not want a “gimmicky” budget, and will veto one if it is put before him.
But the Governor hasn't been in town for a bit, so until he re-engages, the Senate is trying to chart a course on their own and determine what is most palatable to the members of the Senate.
There was a rumor Saturday that an all- cuts budget might be taken up for a vote either Monday or Tuesday, but frankly, budget rumors are very fluid right now. Until a formal announcement is made to that effect, we just put it in the box with all the other budget rumors.
Mr. Rice may be contacted at tony@riceenglander.com
