SACRAMENTO – Senate Republicans are committed to being a part of the solution toward a balanced budget. Our goal is an on-time, responsible budget.

In recent weeks, Senate and Assembly Republicans brought ideas to the table, including:

*Fueling the state economy and easing the burdens on workers by creating workweek flexibility and lessening bureaucratic red tape.
*Providing stable funding to our schools and upholding voters’ commitment to give 40 cents of every tax dollar to schools.
*Streamlining government to maximize limited tax dollars.

The Senate Republican Caucus is united, and committed to respectfully negotiating with our Democrat colleagues, and offer these comments on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s May Revise budget proposal:

Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill (R-Modesto) – “I’m pleased that the Governor’s May budget revision prioritizes state spending and has moved away from across the board cuts. Despite a slowing economy, our state’s revenues are holding steady, which shows we still need to address the spending addiction in Sacramento. Budget reform will ensure the state spends no more than it takes in. This document provides a framework for the legislative leadership to begin talks in earnest about how to give Californians the on-time, responsible budget that they deserve.”

Senator Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga), Budget Vice Chair – “While I believe the May Revision gives us a good starting point in our negotiations, I feel the governor’s proposal doesn’t do nearly enough to change the way we do business in California. I’m deeply concerned that this budget doesn’t put the measures in place that will help grow the economy and generate additional tax revenues through job creation.”

Senator Sam Aanestad ( R-Grass Valley) – “My belief is we need to cut spending to balance this budget, and I’m hopeful the Governor will listen to the concerns of Senate Republicans. New taxes are not the answer to our current budget deficit. We have a spending problem and we need to cut spending.”

Senator Jeff Denham (R-Merced) – “I don’t believe the choice is simply between more borrowing or raising taxes. Why should taxpayers have to be on the hook even more because state leaders couldn’t stop their ‘crazy deficit spending?’ For six years, I have been fighting in Sacramento to reduce government waste. As we face yet another budget deficit, the State must analyze its assets, as any business would do during tough times. We must rid the state of unused or underutilized state properties through fair market sales. These sales would help the State pay off deficit recovery bonds, and bring down California’s debt ratio. I do appreciate that the Governor abandoned his idea of releasing 22,000 convicts onto our streets - that would have created a public safety and budgeting nightmare."

Senator Tom Harman ( R-Huntington Beach) – “ California’s budget crisis is the product of fluctuating tax revenues and steadily increasing state spending. While the Governor’s proposal for a Revenue Stabilization Fund will address the first problem, if the state continues to increase spending as it has over the past couple of years, even the rainy day fund will run dry. What we need in Sacramento is to control our spending.”

Senator Bob Margett (R-Glendora) – “The Governor’s May Revision shows the acuteness of California’s financial situation. I am glad to see the Governor has met the Prop 98 minimum, backed away from releasing felons early, and kept our state parks open. However, the proposal is full of gimmicks and relies too heavily on credit card spending, including the modernization of the California Lottery.”

Senator George Runner ( R-Antelope Valley), Caucus Chair – “The governor’s lottery scheme is classic ‘counting your chickens before they hatch’ budgeting – and the voters are left with the choice of going along with his plan or paying more taxes. But what the voters demand and deserve is a budget that lives within California’s means.”

Senator Mark Wyland (R-Carlsbad) – “I applaud the Governor’s use of a ‘rainy day’ fund, an approach I’ve supported for years, to protect Californians during tough economic times. I also agree with fully funding education, a plan that Senate and Assembly Republicans recently proposed. However, I do not support a tax increase when we have failed to reduce wasteful spending. It’s unacceptable to punish California families, who are already paying too much in taxes, for the unwillingness of the Democrats to control their addiction to spending. I hope the majority party realizes soon enough that the first step toward controlling addiction is admitting that you have problem.”