UPDATE: Governor Jerry Brown has vetoed the budget presented to him less than 24 hours before. In his veto message Brown said, "I am vetoing it today because I don’t want to see more billions in
borrowing, legal maneuvers that are questionable, and a budget that will
not stand the test of time."
As my original commentary for today that follows below the break argued, this budget was crippled from the start and faced many lawsuits. Brown did the right thing.
More on the governr’s veto message from the Sacramento Bee here.
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This isn’t the first time someone gets paid for sloppy work.
Looks like the legislature (read Democrats) passed the budget by the deadline
meaning under the provisions of Proposition 25 legislators will get paid. However,
the budget is made up of gimmicks, previously failed budget proposals and
almost certain illegal taxation.
No one knows the decision that Governor Jerry Brown will
make on this budget. John Wildermuth yesterday on this site drew
a picture of the governor’s difficult choices.
But if Brown signs the budget, expect lawsuits on the
revenue raising pieces.
Following the budget passing both houses, Jon Coupal,
president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association tweeted, "How can this stuff be legal? Hi Ho,
Hi Ho, it’s off to court we go."?
The Jarvis Association listed the revenue raising
mechanisms that were passed that the association believes are illegal.
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The passage of a CALFire surcharge on home insurance policies is
illegal if passed on a simple majority vote
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The
proposed stealing of $1 billion from California’s First Five funds is illegal
without a ballot initiative process
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A $1.7
billion request of funds from Redevelopment Agencies (RDAs) under threat of
extinction is likely illegal under Prop. 22
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The $1.2
billion the Legislature is relying upon from the sale of State office buildings
has already been determined to be illegal
Then there is the question of the sales tax, which will roll
back only three-quarters of a cent instead of a full cent; and, the $12 vehicle
fee. Neither measure got a two-thirds vote, which likely is a violation of both
Proposition 13 and the recently passed Proposition 26 requiring a two-thirds
vote on fees.
If the governor signs the budget, these taxes will be
collected until a court rules against them unless the taxpayer group can get an
injunction against collecting the taxes, a highly unlikely possibility.
You don’t suppose some legislators are banking on a delaying
action in the courts so the questionable taxes can act as a bridge tax until an
election comes along, do you?