SACRAMENTO — Saying the national recession has brought about a "transformation of what services Sacramento can provide," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday pressed lawmakers for a swift resolution of the financial crisis that threatens the country's most populous state with insolvency.
"We are running out of excuses and we have run out of time," Schwarzenegger said in a rare speech to a joint session of the Legislature. "And the people have run out of patience."
The governor spoke in the Assembly chamber hours before lawmakers heard testimony about the potential fallout of his proposed spending reductions. A legislative committee was nearing the end of a series of public hearings on the sweeping budget cuts that Schwarzenegger has proposed in recent weeks for almost every program area, including education, healthcare, social services, public safety, transportation, parks and prisons.
The governor, seeing an opportunity in the crisis, tried to revive his previous failed proposal to "blow up the boxes" of state government by reorganizing agencies, eliminating boards and commissions, and making government more efficient. He told lawmakers he would not agree to any budget deal that would take money from schools or healthcare without first eliminating the high-paying posts on the state Integrated Waste Management Board and other panels laden with former legislators.
In the past, lawmakers have passed -- and Schwarzenegger has signed -- budgets that used borrowing and accounting maneuvers to push fiscal problems into subsequent years. Now, the governor said, the nation is watching how the state handles its projected $24-billion shortfall. He said the state must finally confront the problem head-on, without financial gimmickry.
"People are writing California off," he said. "They are talking about the end of the California dream. They don't believe that we in this room have the courage and the determination to do what needs to be done or that the state is even manageable."
But lawmakers soon heard from stakeholders who pleaded with them not to approve the governor's proposed $70-million budget cut that could close most state parks. State parks commissioners, park rangers and other advocates said the plans posed many problems beyond the loss of Californians' treasured retreats.
