SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled a pair of financial disaster plans Thursday, proposing to address the state's budget crisis by slicing up to seven days off the public school year, releasing thousands of inmates from prison and packing others into county jails, cutting off healthcare to more than 200,000 children and drilling for oil off the Santa Barbara coast.
The governor presented lawmakers with two alternative budgets. The first was grim, addressing a $15.4-billion deficit that finance officials say the state will face even if voters approve a set of ballot measures in Tuesday's special election.
The second, a contingency plan, held more extreme remedies intended to close a $21.3-billion gap if the measures fail. Under that scenario, the state would borrow up to $2 billion from local governments, to be repaid within three years.
If lawmakers were to ratify either of the governor's plans, almost every constituency in the state would feel substantial pain. Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chairman Don Knabe said in an angry statement that residents would suffer from "the state hijacking these local funds, in the form of reduced services and fewer options."
In either case, Schwarzenegger would borrow $6 billion to pay bills, pare education funding by at least $3 billion, lay off 5,000 of the state's 235,000 workers, cut funding to hospitals and reduce eligibility for healthcare programs if he could get federal permission.
The state also would delay repairs in the Capitol for a year, sell the Los Angeles Coliseum and Sports Arena, San Quentin State Prison and other facilities, consolidate state agencies, and eliminate some boards and commissions.
Schwarzenegger explained his proposals to put some of the state's treasured landmarks on the block plainly, saying that the state can't afford to keep them. He compared the government with average Californians, who, he said, have told him of selling cars, boats and motorcycles to stay afloat during the recession.
"We are going to do everything that we can to make sure that we are going to make ends meet, but it's going to be tough," he said. "And I think that state government has to make the same sacrifices as the ordinary folks make out there."
In the worst case, Schwarzenegger would release up to 19,000 undocumented immigrants from state prisons, turning them over to federal authorities. Up to 23,000 other state prisoners could be sent to county jails.
