Bid to break state budget impasse falls short
State Senate Democrats push the first floor vote on a budget in 60 days, but it falls three votes short of the two-thirds majority needed. Schwarzenegger had backed the Democrats' plan.
SACRAMENTO -- Democrats in the state Senate tried but failed to break the budget impasse today after Republicans voted against their spending plan.
The proposal, which required a two-thirds majority, or 27 votes, was rejected, getting only 24 yes votes and 15 no votes, with every Republican senator voting against it. One Democrat, Sen. Lou Correa of Santa Ana, abstained. The floor vote was the first the Senate has taken on the budget since the new fiscal year began 60 days ago.
The plan Democrats offered was rooted in a proposal Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled earlier this month. It includes a temporary sales tax hike and constitutional controls that would limit how much the state could spend in the future.
The governor called the plan "courageous" earlier in the day at a San Diego news conference and urged Democrats and Republicans to cast votes for it.
"It is a reasonable way to go," he said. "It's a compromise way."
evan.halper@latimes.com
