The California legislature has quickly passed a couple of fixes to the state budget.
The first measure deals with a $250 million cut to school bus funding that would have disproportionately hurt certain districts. Now, that money will be evenly spread across all districts. That bill received bipartisan support, except from a few lawmakers whose schools would lose money.
The other measure drew Republican opposition. It allows internal borrowing to help the state get through a cash crunch until Tax Day. Assemblyman Jim Nielsen argued such bills are typical and necessary, but could be avoided with wiser planning.
“Such things are a product of overly optimistic budgeting, under-anticipating revenues, flaws in the budget process and the lack of what I call litigation proofing when we do our budget,” said Nielsen.
Democrats countered that the measure is prudent and said this year’s budget involves fewer problems than previous years.
Governor Jerry Brown is expected to sign both measures soon.
