Lawmakers looking to fix the process before passing budget. 

Legislators in Sacramento, facing the biggest budget crisis in years, are making it known that they are seeking more than just a yearlong fix to California’s budget debacle.  

 

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger reiterated again in his weekly radio address that he will not sign a budget that doesn’t include long term fixes to the budget process.

 

“The people elected me to bring sanity and stability to our state’s finances,” he said. “They wanted Sacramento to end the reckless spending, and to finally live within its means.”

 

He added that the idea of budget reform is not new.

 

“Since Earl Warren in 1948, governors have been trying to fix the broken budget system, without success. But this year, with the help of my partners in the legislature, I’m confident that we will, once and for all, end the ‘boom and bust’ cycle that has plagued California’s budget for decades.”

 

[view:node_ad=5]Cameron Smyth, who represents Santa Clarita in the California State Assembly, told KHTS that he’s on board with Governor Schwarzenegger when it comes to budget reform.

 

“Unfortunately, previous legislatures have not taken the action to reform the budget, and I think that’s one of the reasons we’re in the situation we are today,” Smyth said. “I certainly stand behind the Governor’s stance that we need to have long term budget solutions, and we can do that without raising taxes.”

 

Budget meetings have been taking place with Governor Schwarzenegger and the top four legislative leaders, and the fruits of those meetings will be outlined to Assembly members and Senators in the coming days. .

 

That, however, only signifies the beginning of what is expected to be a very tough battle.

 

“I think there’s going to be a lot of heartache, and some tough votes are going to have to be cast in the next couple of weeks,” Smyth concluded.