Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D- Sacramento) stopped by to visit Rancho Cordova residents on Nov. 9 at City Hall, and he spoke about several issues he feels are currently affecting the Sacramento area.
Steinberg talked about the recession and the budget cuts that have slashed programs state-wide, saying Prop 13, an initiative that limits the amount of property taxes state governments can collect, is a key reason the state’s budget is so tight. The initiative also raised legislature’s budget approval from majority vote to two-thirds vote, and Steinberg said that has also made passing budgets difficult.
The initiative, he said, has created a no-win situation for state legislature. “You either cut or you raise taxes,” he said. “I describe it as governing with one arm tied behind your back.”
He said that while the legislature should shoulder the blame for California’s fiscal crisis, the public should also take some responsibility for the problem. He cited a field poll where citizens were asked if they would accept either raising taxes or cutting programs to fix the budget, and the public overwhelmingly said ‘no’ to both options. “What do we want, and how do we go about paying for what we say we want?” Steinberg asked.
Steinberg also addressed mounting budget cuts for state education and the prospect that more cuts will be coming. “I want to stand the case that public education can afford no more cuts,” he said. He suggested promoting business involvement in education, saying as an example that private businesses could negotiate with school districts to provide work for minority graduates.
“What are we doing in a proactive or intelligent way to create that pipeline in the 9th or 10th grade?” Steinberg asked. ”We have these sort of old ways of looking at things. There needs to be a real connection between our education and the economy.”
Steinberg, who just pushed five Delta-related water bills through state legislature, said the political process in California needs to be reformed, and named term limits as a factor in the legislature’s reluctance to pass bills that address long-term issues such as the Delta rehabilitation. “Term limits are so short, people think they have to make their mark by passing a big law,” he said. ”It is time to divide the legislative session in half. One year for legislation, one year for oversight… Do we really need 1,000 new laws every year?”
Rancho Cordova was Steinberg’s first stop in a series of town hall meetings related to state legislature. The next scheduled meeting will be held Nov. 12 at U.C. Davis Medical Center on X Street from 6 to 7 p.m.; the final meeting will be held Nov. 17 at the Valley Hi – North Laguna Library on Imagination Parkway from 6 to 7 p.m.
Despite the state’s expectation of a $15 billion budget shortfall in 2010, Steinberg said the state can bounce back in the future. “California is in fact fixable,” he said. ”The one thing that I won’t ever agree with is those people who say California’s best days are behind it.”
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Interesting comment about the state budget cuts. Prop 13 has been in place for decades now and Steinberg blames this for the dismal state budget situation. It seems to me over-spending and fiscal mis-management are to blame for the current state budget problems. Granted, we’re facing a major downturn in the economy, however shouldn’t we have plans in place for situations like this. Blaming Prop 13 is ridiculous.
I don’t think he was placing the blame solely on Prop 13, but he did say it was a large part of the problem. His main point was that Prop 13 took a major source of income away from the state, so they need to find other ways to generate income if they ever want to stop cutting money from state-run programs.
There’s a really simple solution to the budget problem…CUT THE WASTE.
What does a family do where the income-earners have received pay cuts or lost their jobs or where expenses have gone up? They CUT THE WASTE in order to be able to pay their expenses. The government needs to adopt this same philosophy instead of robbing from the people.
Nice job on placing the blame on the public, does he realize that the public does not create the budget? This mess is completely the Legislature’s faults. In California, we already pay the 2nd highest in state taxes in the Union and he just wants more and more.
On the issue of public education cuts, how about looking into other areas to cut? Or cutting some administrative costs associated with public education?
I love this quote: “…private businesses could negotiate with school districts to provide work for minority graduates.” Why should private businesses focus on minority graduates? Nice pandering there.
I think one of the main issues with our education system is parents. If we had parents who were supportive and responsible, then the students would be more likely to take their education seriously.
I can’t believe people like this are running the state…
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