California Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday proposed more than $8 billion in cuts to close a widening California budget deficit but also said public schools will receive more money if voters approve his tax-hike initiative in November.
The governor wants public employees to take a 5 percent pay cut and also seeks cuts to health care and social services.
Brown released his revised spending plan Monday for the fiscal year starting July 1, saying the state faces a $15.7 billion deficit. That is roughly 17 percent of its $91 billion general fund, California's main checkbook for day-to-day operations.
It also is far higher than the $9.2 billion gap Brown anticipated in January.
The Democratic governor said the size of the deficit makes it virtually impossible to balance the budget with spending cuts alone, so his budget balances the cuts with the revenue he anticipates if voters approve his proposal to increase the statewide sales tax by a quarter cent and boost income taxes on those who make more than $250,000 a year. Both tax increases would be temporary.
Brown's budget proposes $8.3 billion in cuts, $5.9 billion from the tax increases and $2.5 billion in a variety of other solutions.
He said the tax increases are essential to maintain fiscal stability in the state and avoiding even deeper spending cuts - mostly to schools- if they fail.
"It's taken more than a decade to get into this mess; we're not going to get out of it in a year. But we're making real progress," he told reporters in releasing his revised budget.
If voters reject his tax initiative, Brown is proposing an automatic cut of $5.5 billion to K-12 schools and $250 million each to the California State University and University of California systems.
By comparison, public schools would see a 16 percent increase in funding if voters pass Brown's initiative.
