Facing a projected $14 billion budget deficit, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urged lawmakers to "face our budget demons" and approve a constitutional amendment to rein in spending.
The governor, however, argued that the bleak budget picture should not imperil his proposal to overhaul health care.
“Now, I understand the concern that we have now a deficit, and that our plan is maybe too daring, or too bold, or expensive,” Schwarzenegger said in his Jan. 8 address to the Democratic-controlled Legislature. “But sometimes you have to be daring, because the need is so great.”
The California Assembly in December had approved the governor’s health-care package aimed at covering 3 million more uninsured residents, but the Senate had yet to vote on it. (The Senate later rejected the plan.)
Schwarzenegger said a constitutional amendment that would impose a spending cap would end the “binge and purge” nature of the budget process. The governor proposed a similar idea in 2004, but state lawmakers rejected it. Such a plan would require voters’ approval.
On the education front, the governor announced California would be the first state to use powers under the federal No Child Left Behind education law to intervene in school districts that failed to meet student achievement levels.
Schwarzenegger said he would continue to push for more partnerships between state government and private industry to help fix the state’s crumbling infrastructure. He estimated the state faces $500 billion worth of infrastructure needs in the next 20 years.
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