SACRAMENTO – In this Democratic weekly address, Assembly Budget Chair Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) highlights bipartisan Assembly action on Thursday to produce $4 billion in cash solutions that can prevent California from having to issue IOU’s as early as next week. However, echoing disappointment in Senate Republican obstructionism seen in February’s state budget situation, Evans and Fuentes say, “Unfortunately, Republican holdouts in the State Senate once again derailed responsible budget actions,†by immediately blocking Thursday’s bills.
Click onto the following link for the statement from Assembly Budget Committee Chair Noreen Evans on the CA Budget situation (MP3 file). The running time is 1:48.
The transcript of her remarks is on the flip.
Transcript:
Hello, this is Assembly Budget Chair Noreen Evans with an important update about California’s state budget.
This week the State Controller announced that if the Governor and Legislature don’t come together to produce urgent cash solutions, California will have to start issuing IOUs to taxpayers, schools and businesses in July.
That’s unacceptable.
On Thursday the Assembly voted nearly unanimously, Democrats and Republicans alike, on urgency legislation to provide up to $4 billion in immediate cash solutions to prevent IOU’s from being issued.
Unfortunately, Republican holdouts in the State Senate once again derailed responsible budget actions.Â
This week’s bipartisan action in the Assembly was an encouraging sign that progress can be made to close the $19.5 billion deficit the national recession has caused in California.
However, our state’s road to recovery continues.
Democrats in the Assembly and Senate continue to support a balanced approach of real cuts,  new revenues and other solutions that don’t eliminate the state’s vital safety net or decimate public schools.
We believe it makes sense to increase the tobacco tax a little rather than fire a lot of teachers.
We believe it makes sense to charge oil companies for the oil they take out of the ground rather than take away lifesaving drugs and healthcare for children.
We believe it makes sense to help middle class kids overcome the high costs of college rather than overfill a rainy day fund as the Governor’s office has proposed.
Assembly Democrats are continuing to work and to negotiate in order to solve the entire budget deficit—in the balanced way Californians want and deserve.Â
I’m Assembly Budget Chair Noreen Evans.
Thank you for listening.