SACRAMENTO -- — State lawmakers Wednesday night moved on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's call for emergency cuts to the state budget, with a Senate panel voting to reduce spending in schools, healthcare and other services by roughly $2 billion.
The action, which triggered protests from educators and advocates for the poor, would do little to solve the state's overall fiscal problems. Lawmakers face a $14.5-billion deficit over the next year and a half and are planning to make more cuts in coming months as they negotiate the rest of the budget for the next fiscal year.
The proposed reductions, which are expected to be approved by an Assembly panel today and to be considered by the full Legislature as soon as Friday, come as lawmakers brace for a report next week from the state's chief budget analyst. Many in the Capitol expect the report to show that the deficit has grown substantially -- perhaps by billions of dollars, which would swallow up the reductions lawmakers planned Wednesday night.
"It's a balance," said Sen. Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), who voted for the reductions Wednesday as a member of the Budget Committee. "At this stage, we have to cut. But we don't want to cut precipitously in a way that will make it very difficult to bring important investment [in state programs] back online."
Steinberg has been chosen to succeed Sen. Don Perata (D-Oakland) as Senate chief later this year.
Although the cuts would make only a small dent in the deficit, their effect would be felt statewide.
Schools took among the biggest hits. At the governor's suggestion, the committee voted to take back $400 million that was originally budgeted for schools to use over the next four months. Lawmakers said they took surplus funds that were unlikely to affect classrooms.
Educators disagreed.
"Very little of that money isn't already spoken for," said Bob Wells, executive director of the Assn. of California School Administrators. "It is the equivalent of about $60 per student statewide, or $2,000 from every classroom. Walk into most classrooms and you won't find $2,000 that is not spoken for."
School groups had already launched a campaign against the cuts. This first round accounts for less than one-tenth the amount the governor wants schools to be cut by before a budget is enacted for the 2008-09 fiscal year, which begins in July.
