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| 4/6 |
| 2004/2/27 [Politics/Domestic/California, Politics/Domestic/California/Arnold] UID:12431 Activity:high |
2/27 I don't live in California anymore, and it's dissapeared from the
headlines...What's the deal with Arnie? Has he improved the fiscal
situation? done anything else useful?
\_ Of course not. The main thing he's done is claim that allowing
gay marriage in SF will cause civil unrest.
\_Gay marriage in SF doesn't work, the state doesn't recognize
gay marriage. If you don't like it, either change the laws
in Sac. or secede from California. I don't really give a
rats ass about fags getting married, but the law in its current
form definitely does not recognize homosexual unions as a
legal entity, no matter how you may try to reinterpret it.
If a law is discriminatory, go and get it changed. Good luck
trying to get the Latinos to vote for it.
\_ Mmm... racist and homophobic all in one breath.
\_ I don't think it was racist. Latino voters are more against
gay marriage than non-Latino voters. Statement of fact.
\_ Civics lesson 101: Marriage is not mentioned in the US
Constitution. Marriage is not restricted in the CA Const.
CA State Law defines marriage as being between a man and
woman, but relegates issuance of marriage licenses to cities.
By allowing gay marriages in San Francisco, Newsom is defying
CA State Law. In order to censure him, however, the Judicial
branch has to find the state ban on gay marriage constitutional
according to CA Constitution, which is unlikely after the
recent Mass. Supreme Court decision. Until the court rules,
the marriages are presumed legal and legitimate. If the court
rules that the ban is constitutional, the marriages will be
rendered null and void (and Newsom could face criminal
charges); if not, the law will be struck down, and the
marriages will stand and continue.
\_ Why do Americans think the Executive branch has anything to do
with the economy? As if they can push the "create jobs" button
and some choose not to? Not Arnold, not Davis, not Bush, not
Clinton nor any other Executive has the power to "improve the
fiscal situation". And if they did, the few months he's been in
office wouldn't be enough time anyway. I didn't vote for Arnold
and don't like Arnold and I'm voting against his prop 57/58
insanity but I'll grant that he's trying. How many people on the
motd have ever taken a real US Civics course?
\_ In CA, state spending is wholy incumbent upon the Governor and
on how well he can woo the legislature. Do a little more civics
studies yourself.
http://www.dof.ca.gov/fisa/bag/process.htm
Also take a short course on economics, and see how much of an
effect government spending has upon the economy. Connect the
dots, young man.
\_ Woo the legislature? As if the legislature is some mythical
beast that is intent on the destruction of the economy? No,
dummy, it is incumbent upon the legislature to write and pass
bills that will have a positive effect. Since when did the
legislature lose all responsibility for their own actions?
Like I said, take a civics course. Worse than being ignorant,
you're actually completely ass backwards on the subject.
\_ The motd continues to amaze.
\_ Since the Recall put the blame for all of California's
economic woes at the feet of Gray Davis.
\_ Actually they do have a "create jobs" button, but not on such
a big enough scale to make a difference. For that they need
legislative help.
\_ He didn't say "economy"--he said "fiscal situation". You know,
the CA gov't budget problems? Moron.
\_ *laugh* Yes, the governor can magically fix the "fiscal
situation" which is dramatically different and unrelated to
the economy. Refer to my reply above about who writes and
passes legislation in this state. The other guy only needs
a civics class. You're hopeless.
\_ You know, being abrasive doesn't make you any less
wrong. Certainly the governor can't magically fix
anything, but he has a significant amount of control
over both state expenditures and state income, which
are the two aspects of the fiscal situation. For
example, Arnie simply threw away $4 billion in revenues.
100% his own decision, for his own political gain. -tom
\_ Yeah, vs. Davis tripling the car tax to raise money,
also 100% his own decision, which unfortunately
was so unpopular that they threw him out of office.
I guess you won't be running any winning campaigns
in your lifetime, Tommy boy.
\_ Wrong. Davis cut the car tax by 1/3 back in 99,
when the state was flush with cash. It went back
to its normal level automatically.
\_ He's been busy raising money to fund the "borrow $15 billion to
balance the budget this year" prop. It's going to get very ugly
out here very quickly.
\_ The Gropinator wants to borrow $15B in bonds to pay for his
$4B/yr car tax cut. Dunno if it going to pass or not. CA voters
are nuts.
\_ Yes they are. Whee! Actually, CA voters aren't much different
than other states. Which is to say that their collective
intelligence is that of a child.
\_ I think the problem with california voters is that they
really represent the equivalent of at least three states
in terms of interests. Very large blocks of California
voters differ by as much as, say, South Carolina voters
and Utah voters. |
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| www.dof.ca.gov/fisa/bag/process.htm Californias Budget Process CALIFORNIAS BUDGET PROCESS Preface The budget process for California defies a simple concise definition. It is not the development of the Governors Budget, the Legislatures enactment of a budget nor the executive branchs administration of the budget. Rather, it is the combination of all of these phases with all the ramifications and influences of political interactions, relationships with federal and local governments, public input, natural events, legal issues, the economy, initiatives and legislation, etc. Although the size and complexity of California and the dynamics of the process make it difficult to establish and maintain an orderly process, these very reasons necessitate an orderly formalized process. The following sections summarize the major steps and procedures of Californias budget process. Budget Development The State Constitution requires that the Governor submit a budget to the Legislature by January 10. It provides for a balanced budget in that, if the proposed expenditures for the budget year exceed estimated revenues, the Governor is required to recommend the sources for the additional funding. The Director of Finance, as the chief financial advisor to the Governor, directs the effort for preparation of the Governors Budget. Under the policy direction of the Governor, the Director of Finance issues instructions and guidelines for budget preparation to agencies and departments. This effort typically gets underway even before the Legislature has passed the budget for the current fiscal year. Although California has utilized concepts such as Zero-Based Budgeting, Management by Objectives, and Total Quality Management, the basic approach utilized is incremental budgeting. This approach essentially uses the current departmental level of funding as a base amount to be adjusted by change proposals. The Budget Change Proposal BCP has been the traditional decision document which proposes a change to the existing budget level. The BCPs are submitted by departments to the Department of Finance for review and analysis. The general goal in the budget decision process is to resolve budget issues at the lowest level possible. For those departments that are under an Agency Secretary, departments must clear their proposals through Agency-level hearings. For non-Agency departments, proposals are presented directly to the Department of Finance. Issues which are not resolved between departments and Finance staff are discussed at hearings conducted by the Director of Finance. The most sensitive issues are ultimately presented to the Governor for a decision. After all decisions are completed, the Department of Finance coordinates the printing of the following publications which comprise the Governors Budget package. Governors Budget Summary A summary volume which includes the Governors goals and objectives for the forthcoming year, and the policy perspectives and highlights of changes in the Governors Budget. Governors Budget A detailed presentation for each department for the past, current, and budget years. Governors Budget Highlights A pocket size highlights book of narrative, charts and graphs issued on the Press Conference day. Salaries and Wages Supplement A detailed presentation of authorized staffing and related salaries. The Governor annually unveils the budget at a formal press conference. The Governors State of the State address typically includes a general presentation of the Administrations budget policies and priorities. Budget Enactment By constitutional requirement, the Governors Budget must be accompanied by a Budget Bill itemizing recommended expenditures which shall be introduced in each house of the Legislature. The Constitution also requires that the Legislature pass the bill by June 15. The Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee and the Assembly Budget Committee are the two committees that hear the Budget Bills. They assign the items in the bill to several subcommittees by major subject areas such as Education or Health and Human Services which conduct budget hearings. These hearings generally begin in late February soon after the Legislative Analyst issues the Analysis of the Budget Bill. The Legislative Analyst is appointed by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and is charged with providing a nonpartisan analysis and recommendations for changes to the Governors budget plan. In addition to the Legislative Analyst, the Department of Finance and departmental staff typically provide testimony at the subcommittee hearings. In recent years, there has been increasing input by partisan fiscal committee consultants of both the majority and minority parties. Additionally, lobbyists and the public may provide testimony at the hearings. The Department of Finance proposes adjustments to the Governors Budget through Finance Letters in the spring. By statute, the Department of Finance is required to give the Legislature all proposed adjustments, other than Capital Outlay and May Revision, to the Governors Budget by April 1. The traditional May Revision adjustments are due by May 14, and consist of an update of General Fund revenues and changes in expenditures for school funding requirements pursuant to Proposition 98, caseload, enrollment, or population. The Legislature typically waits for the May Revision update before final budget decisions are made on major programs such as Education, Corrections, and Health and Human Services. When a subcommittee completes its actions, it reports its recommendations to the full committee. Upon adoption of the budget by the full committee, a recommendation is made to the Floor full house. Upon two-thirds vote of the house, the Budget Bill is passed to the other house. A Budget Conference Committee is then appointed to work out differences between the Senate and Assembly versions of the bill. Upon completion of action by the Conference Committee and a two-thirds vote, this conference version is then sent to the two houses for approval. Sometimes the Conference Committee does not reach final resolution on the budget. This stalemate typically results from non-resolution of a few major issues. These issues are then resolved by the Leadership or Big 5 Governor, Speaker of the Assembly, President Pro Tempore, and the minority leaders of both houses. When the Budget Bill receives a two-thirds vote of each house, it is passed on to the Governor. The Constitution allows the Governor to reduce or eliminate an item of appropriation. Although there is no constitutional requirement for passage of a balanced budget, Government Code Section 133375 requires that projected expenditures shall not exceed projected revenues for the ensuing fiscal year. The Department of Finance publishes three documents upon enactment of the Budget Act. The first two are also available from the Department of Finance Website. California State Budget Highlights A pocket size highlight book of narrative, charts and graphs. Final Budget Summary This document is an annotated version of the Budget Act which includes summary tables, technical corrections to the Budget Act, and the effect of vetoes on the items and sections of the Budget Act. Final Change Book This document provides the detail of changes between the January 10 budget and the enacted budget. There are generally budget changes proposed by the Governor or the Legislature which necessitate changes to existing law in order to implement the budget changes. If this is the case, separate bills are introduced to implement the change. These budget implementation bills are called trailer bills and are heard concurrently with the Budget Bill. By law, all proposed statutory changes necessary to implement the Governors Budget are due to the Legislature by February 1. Administration The Budget Act is the primary source for appropriations. Continuous statutory appropriations and special legislation also provide expenditure authority. Departments have the primary responsibility to operate within budgeted levels and to comply with any restrictions or limitations enacted by the Legislature. Further, the general expectation is that State agencies comply wi... |