Politics & Government

Hopes of Placing Tax Extensions on Ballot Dim

Gov. Jerry Brown halts budget talks, saying Republicans refuse to put the tax extension to a vote of the public unless he agrees to "an ever changing list of collateral demands."

Gov. Jerry Brown announced Tuesday that he had halted budget negotiations because of Republican unwillingness to place his proposed tax extensions on the ballot.

The decision won't come as good news to the many Palisadians who have supported his efforts,  which if stopped could result in

“If the extensions do not pass . . . the worst case scenario would be to budget a loss of funding of about $330 per ADA (average daily attendance), which would be almost six percent in funding reductions,”said Greg Wood, Palisade High School's chief financial officer, in a.   

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As a contigency against a grim fiscal scenario, Pali High's board of trustees approved the reduction of eight teaching positions. 

The Governor’s proposed extensions would maintain a 0.25 percent income tax increase, which expired at the end of last year. It also includes a vehicle license tax increase and a one percent sales tax increase, according to the governor’s office.

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Democrats have approved placing the extensions on the ballot, but Republicans in Sacramento have been digging in their heels.

The governor issued a statement Tuesday afternoon expressing his frustration, saying: "Yesterday, I stopped the discussions that I had been conducting with various members of the Republican Party regarding our state’s massive deficit."

On March 24, Brown signed several bills that would reduce the state’s budget by $11 billion. He had hoped to move forward with his plan and garner support from the legislature for an additional $12.5 billion in spending cuts and $12 billion in temporary tax extensions.

“The budget plan that I put forth is balanced between deep cuts and extensions of currently existing taxes and I believe it is in the best interest of California," Brown's statement said. "Under our constitution, however, two Republicans from the Assembly and two from the Senate must agree before this matter can be put to the people. 

 “Each and every Republican legislator I’ve spoken to believes that voters should not have this right to vote unless I agree to an ever-changing list of collateral demands.”

Some of those demands were mentioned in a letter that the governor sent to state Senate Republican Leader Bob Dutton on Friday. In part the letter said:

“…I was surprised and frankly disappointed that you came today with a very long list of demands (53 separate proposals), many of which are new and have nothing to do with the budget… your list of demands—if met— would undermine my entire budget proposal by undoing major elements and extending the taxes for only 18 months.”

In halting negotiations, Brown said he plans to focus his efforts in the coming weeks on speaking with Californians to find “honest and real solutions” to the budget crisis.

A full copy of the letter sent to Dutton is in the PDF file under the photo to the right.

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Story courtesy of Mar Vista Patch.


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