Governor Jerry Brown is keeping the pressure on Republicans to vote for a budget deal that includes taxes. The Democratic Governor held a press conference Monday with leaders from education, public safety and other groups.
His goal is to urge GOP lawmakers to temporarily extend tax increases until voters can weigh in during a fall election. Brown says the so called “tax bridge” is a necessity.
“The only people against this are a relatively small number of influential republican activists who don’t like this. It’s part of their thing. Without that no tax, they can’t go anywhere,” Brown explained.
Brown has been negotiating with a group of four GOP Senators who are seeking pension and regulatory changes in exchange for their votes to put tax extensions on the ballot.
But Republican Senator and budget vice chair Bob Huff said there are no GOP votes for the “bridge tax.”
Lawmakers face a June 15th deadline to pass a budget. Absent that, they will permanently forfeit their pay for every day without a spending plan.
