Assembly Democrats have rolled out their plan for balancing the state's $15 billion budget deficit. And it calls for billions in new taxes. From Sacramento, Marianne Russ reports.
Speaker Karen Bass says the plan restores billions in cuts the governor proposed to education and health programs. And it calls for about $6 billion in new taxes. She won't say which taxes, only that they’re looking at eliminating loopholes and tax breaks. Republicans typically oppose those ideas -- and their support is needed to get the necessary two-thirds vote to pass tax measures.
But Bass says this year may be different.
Bass : We were all put on notice by the controller that we could run out of cash by mid-august, so with the situation being that dire I am hoping that 2/3 might be more achievable this year than it has been in the past.
But in a statement, Republican Assembly Leader Mike Villines called the Democrats’ proposal a mistake -- and said Californians can’t afford higher taxes.
In the meantime, a spokeswoman for the Senate Leader says Democrats in the upper house will call for more than $6 billion in new revenue in their budget proposal.
A conference committee of Senators and Assembly members will start meeting next week to hash out the budget.
