California budget cuts - 'California's day of reckoning is here'

June 2, 2:29 PMSF Lake Tahoe Travel ExaminerElizabeth Sedway

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by: Elizabeth Sedway, TahoeKidsGuide.com

This article supplemented by:  California budget cuts-Budget Conf Hearings on State Park closures; California State Budget Deadline

In a joint press conference today, given in response to the address by Governor Schwarzenegger to a joint convention of the legislature this morning, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass and Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg discussed  issues surrounding the inevitable cuts to the California State Budget. 

While the importance of programs such as Healthy Families, Cal Grants and public safety were mentioned, notably absent from their comments at this press conference was any mention of the potential closure of California State Parks.

In his address, the governor urged lawmakers to act quickly to solve the state's fiscal mess.  Declaring 'California's day of reckoning is here, the governor commented:

We can only spend what we have. That is the harsh but simple reality...Our wallet is empty, our bank is closed and our credit is dried up.

While Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg acknowledge that it is the job of the California legislators to 'minimize the harsh in harsh realities' during the budget cut process, there still is no consensus about how this should be done.  Senator Steinberg commented:

While it is our responsibility make cuts, because of the magnitude of the crisis, it is also our responsibility to cut in a surgical way, rather than a wholesale dismantle of major inventsments of the people of California. 

When asked if the legislators are considering additional revenue sources for the State of California, Speaker Bass acknowledged that an acceleration of the California personal income tax is being considered.

For more info about:  Valhalla Renaissance Faire; Califoria State Parks closure threat; Lake Tahoe July 4th Fireworks in Jeopardy; Paris Goes to Lake Tahoe; Monsters In The Woods: Backpacking With Children ; The Tahoe Rim Trail: The Official Guide for Hikers, Mountain Bikers and Equestrians

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