Governor Jerry Brown Pursues His Deficit Closure Plan

The headline grabbers in the last couple of weeks within state government circles have been all about the state budget. The Governor has given himself 60 days to get a budget passed that would cut $12 billion and to put a measure on the June ballot that would increase taxes by a like amount. February 5 th is the 27 th day. While there is no shortage of yelling and screaming about both cuts and taxes, the din is less than one might expect given the enormity of both. Brown’s straightforward, balanced, and open approach deserves credit for keeping the dialog civil and productive to date. He has met, among others, with the California State Association of Counties, the League of California Cities, and even the Oroville Mayor and City Council in selling his budget balancing proposal. His message has been one of being open to ideas, as long as they actually work to balance the budget. In his State of the State address January 31st, he chided both Democrats and Republicans, though a bit more on Reeps. He described a veritable parade of people into his office with the message of “don’t cut my program,” yet not one he said offered an alternative. To Republicans his message was “let the people vote.” He has ordered state cell phones and automobile fleets to be cut in half. While these actions will save some few millions, making but a tiny dent in a $25.4 billion deficit, “symbolism matters,” he said. Bills continue to emerge at a steady pace, leading up to the last-minute rush before the February 18 th deadline for introduction. Of the 500+ measures introduced to date, only 30 so far relate to energy and are on our tracking list. With the budget deliberations commanding so much of the legislative and executive branches’ attention, it should not be surprising that there is less focus on energy legislation so far this year. Of course, as the situation evolves, new issues will have no trouble finding a “vehicle,” that is, a bill in some stage of the process to carry the policy issue into law. That said, legislative Democrats held a press event February 2 nd to highlight energy legislation. They presented a package of 4 bills, two of which don’t have bill numbers yet, and are still in the Legislative Counsel’s Office for drafting. Those four measures are: 33% Renewable Portfolio Standard (Senator Joe Simitian – Palo Alto). This bill is SB 23, and has also been introduced into the special session as SBX1 2. Streamlined Siting for Renewable Energy Projects (Assembly Member V. Manuel Pérez – Cathedral City). Career Technical Education (Senator Darrell Steinberg – Sacramento), SB 148. Economic Incentives to Increase Energy Efficiency (Assembly Member Skinner – Berkeley) “The budget is and remains our top priority,” said Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg. But, he added, “we must also continue to provide state and national leadership in our ongoing efforts to strengthen California’s economy by supporting emerging industries, improving public education and creating jobs for Californians.”

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Governor Jerry Brown Pursues His Deficit Closure Plan

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