California lawmakers pass budget deal (and the deadline is July 1)

[alp227]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- California lawmakers passed a budget bill Tuesday night that will reduce the state's monetary shortfall from $26 billion to $5 billion, officials said.

Both houses of the state's legislature passed the main portions of the budget after hours of committee meetings.

The Senate was still grappling with the education section of the deal late Tuesday, but the measure was expected to pass early Wednesday and go on to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature.

(...)

The deal, brokered by the governor and Democratic leaders over Republican objections, calls for massive cuts: $5 billion to health and human services, $1 billion to the corrections department, $650 million to the University of California system, another $650 million to the California State University system and hundreds of millions to the court system, officials said.

(...)

In their criticism, Republicans accused the Democrats of being compromised by special interests such as public employee unions.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/29/california.budget/index.html

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So when was the last time California passed a budget on time? And notice how the state universities took nearly $300 mil more in cuts than the prisons.

[No Elephants]

1. American workers/taxpayers are a special interest group? We've really gone through

the looking glass. John D. Rockefeller and his murderous colleagues can rest in peace.

[No Elephants]

2. Dang. I unrecc'd by mistake. Somebody please cancel out my clumsiness.

[pinboy3niner]

3. Done

[cosmicone]

6. sure n/t

[JDPriestly]

4. The courts will be impossible with those cuts. They already are.

Maybe judges will throw frivolous cases out more quickly.

[lunatica]

5. I work in the University of California system in Berkeley

I've already gone through one layoff in 2009. Fortunately I was rehired. We're all bracing for the worst after a couple of years of cutting spending to the bare essentials. Sigh.

At this point we're all just saying 'get on with it'.

[cosmicone]

7. It is sheer, sickening teabagger insanity

to spend more money per prisoner than per university student. Even bizarro world couldn't think of that!