Few signs of progress in solving Calif. budget

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic legislative leaders began a new week of budget negotiations Monday with optimism, even as they admitted little progress on how to address the remainder of California's $26.6 billion shortfall.

Brown, a Democrat, has missed his self-imposed deadline to put a special election on tax extensions before voters, and lawmakers say it's increasingly unlikely that any such measure could be placed on the ballot June 7, when several municipalities hold local elections.

But Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said this is the week to get bipartisan support to call a vote.

"Time is of the essence. ... We're talking days, not weeks," Steinberg, a Sacramento Democrat, said after meeting with Brown and Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles. "There's going to be an all-hands effort to try to pull together an agreement and to try to get the minimum number of Republican votes - or more than the minimum number - to give the people a choice."

The governor spoke to a gathering of labor officials Monday night and said he wanted to be on a conciliatory path with GOP members. But he criticized Republican lawmakers as being obstructionists. Members have also opposed his plan to eliminate the state's redevelopment agencies, a plan the governor argues would put more money toward education and public safety.

"Well if you're not going to vote to extend taxes, you're not going to vote to cut, you're not going to vote to do anything to redevelopment - so what the hell are you going to do," Brown said. "By the way, if you're not going to do anything, why do you take a paycheck?"

Earlier in the day he took to YouTube, asking Californians to let lawmakers know they want a chance to vote.

"I don't see this as a Republican or a Democratic issue," Brown said in his three-minute video. "This is a matter of all of us thinking as Californians first and acting in solidarity to grapple with problems that have been avoided too long."

The Legislature began chipping away at the deficit last week, primarily by cutting health care services for seniors and the poor. But the most contentious parts of Brown's budget proposal remain unresolved, including his desire to eliminate local redevelopment agencies and his call for a special election.

Brown wants voters to decide whether to extend temporary increases in the personal income, sales and vehicle taxes enacted two years ago. If voters approve, those taxes would bring in an estimated $9.2 billion a year for five more years. That is on top of $12.5 billion in spending cuts.

While no Republicans support the plan, five GOP senators have engaged in discussions with Brown and Democrats. Several met with Steinberg on Monday. They want pension reform, a state spending cap and regulatory changes, primarily to environmental rules they say stymie economic development.

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last year won concessions on public employee pensions through the Legislature and collective bargaining, and Brown has succeeded in getting rollbacks in contract agreements his administration recently struck with several state unions.

Nevertheless, the Republican senators are pressing for more changes, such as converting to a hybrid retirement plan that blends the current defined benefits with 401(k)-style savings account.

One of the five GOP senators, Sen. Sam Blakeslee of San Luis Obispo, said Brown has so far rejected their ideas. He suggested the governor has not been willing to challenge his own party to accept changes that are unpalatable to unions, which are major donors to Democratic candidates and causes.

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