State of CA, Governor Jerry Brown's budget

....  "The budget proposes a multiyear plan that is balanced, pays off budgetary debt from past years, saves for a rainy day, and makes wise investments in education, the environment, public safety, infrastructure and California's extensive safety net," the governor's proposal says.

Brown to legislature, "Our balanced budget is our economy."

 ....  California faced a $26 billion deficit and years of anticipated structural deficits when Brown took office in 2011 and promised to turn around the state. Although California appears to be improving, it still faces $218 billion in unfunded pension obligations.

Brown's proposal stresses caution during the economic windfall, saying "stability of the past year will require fiscal restraint." He warns there remain economic risks that could result in significant lost revenue, including fallout from the federal debt ceiling crisis or the threat of another recession."San Francisco Chronicle/Melody Gutierrez, 1/8/14, "Jerry Brown's $107 billion California spending plan leaked."   Read article. 

"As expected, Brown will propose using fees paid by carbon producers to help fund California’s high-speed rail project, and he will announce his support for a proposal by Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez to put a rainy-day fund constitutional amendment on the November ballot.

“Learning from the state’s recent history and seeking to avoid the same traps of the past,” the administration said in its plan, “the budget uses the surplus to pursue two goals that enhance the state’s long-term fiscal capacity – paying down debts and liabilities, and saving a portion for a rainy day.”  Sacramento Bee/State Budget, David Siders, Jim Miller, Jeremy B. White, 1/8/14, "Jerry Brown's budget plan proposes cautious spending, paying down debt."  Read article.

Note:  photograph from Fresno State News.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/01/08/6057902/jerry-browns-budget-plan-proposes.html#storylink=cpy

Posted by Kathy Meeh