Republican legislators in the San Joaquin Valley are sounding conciliatory in their reactions to Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposals announced Thursday in Sacramento.
"The budget presented by Gov. Brown today is a good starting point," said State Sen. Anthony Cannella (R-Ceres). "We must tackle the wall of debt and look at solutions that will make long term reforms to control spending. It is also important that we keep a focus on creating jobs for unemployed Californians. I look forward to continuing my efforts to streamline regulations that are stifling businesses and enacting pension reforms to control ongoing costs.”
"I am pleased to see the governor's budget continues to reduce state spending, and includes measures to make government more efficient," said Assemblymember Kristin Olsen (R-Modesto). "I look forward to working with him to achieve these goals before March."
Olsen took issue, however, with Brown's call for tax increases.
"The governor's budget misses the mark by assuming that Californians will vote to increase taxes in November, and by failing to include a plan to grow jobs in the state," Olsen said. "The best way to make progress on eliminating our wall of debt is to grow revenues by putting Californians back to work."
The most-negative reaction was from Assemblymember Linda Halderman (R-Fresno), who zeroed in on Brown's proposed budget for veterans' services.
"The governor's 2012-13 budget includes a crippling cut to the California Department of Veterans Affairs," Halderman said. "This will result in an additional one-year delay in the opening of the Fresno and Redding veterans homes. I am disgusted to see the continued betrayal of California's veterans. Honoring our veterans by fulfilling our state's obligations should be one of our highest budget priorities. I hope all of my Central Valley colleagues join me in rejecting this disrespectful and unacceptable cut to veterans funding. I am committed to working in a bi-partisan manner in order to restore funding to the men and women who have defended us."
State Sen. Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar), the Republican leader in the state senate, said the budget "is a good first step but relies far too much on a $7 billion tax hike that voters are likely to reject."
Huff said the solution to the state budget deficit is to "adopt the reforms needed to make California government more efficient, effective and competitive."
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