Budget sub-committees are running at full throttle at the state Capitol. A process that usually takes months has been trimmed to a few weeks. Republican Jim Nielsen is the Assembly Budget Committee Vice Chairman. He likes the sense of urgency and says important issues are being aired, but there’s much more to be done.
“I still don’t see the pathway to a resolution at this point,” said Nielsen, “but everything is moving along with greater focus and dispatch than has been in the past.”
Issues that must be resolved include transferring some state programs to local control and proposed program cuts. Democrats want to have budget plans on the Senate and Assembly floors by the first part of March. They want to go to the ballot in June so voters can decide whether to extend temporary tax increases. Republicans are resisting a June vote.
