Ueberroth Unveils Fiscal Plan for State

The candidate said as much as $6 billion in new revenue could come from the tax amnesty, which he said would be most effective if the federal government joined in the effort. He did not offer a breakdown of that figure, but said he believed people would voluntarily pay owed taxes in exchange for a promise that they would not face legal sanctions.

Ueberroth also said that if he were governor, he would go to Washington and work with California's congressional delegation to demand federal help paying for education and health services for illegal immigrants.

A sizable cost reduction could be achieved with a 5% cut in the state's general fund in every area except education, which is protected by the voter-approved Proposition 98 requiring the Legislature to spend about 40% of the state budget on education, Ueberroth said. Offering no further details, he said that although some cuts would trim waste, others would probably affect services such as health and welfare programs.

A hiring freeze and salary adjustments could save $400 million, he said, and renegotiating labor contracts could net up to $1 billion -- assuming unions went along. "They're not dumb," he said. "They see clearly the problem the state is in.... I think they'll come to the table."

Fighting fraud in Medi-Cal, the state and federal program that provides health care for the poor, could save $1.5 billion, he said, although he offered no details on how to do that.

Ueberroth also proposed selling some land the state owns but is not using, but didn't offer a list of what might be sold or how much could be raised. "We think it is very, very substantial," he said. "An auction would be a whole lot of fun ....This may be a diamond in the rough."