Governor Schwarzenegger is expected to roll out his plans to plug a multi-billion-dollar hole in the state budget Thursday. And it's not expected to be pretty. The governor has warned Californians to expect deep cuts to everything from schools to prisons.
Governor Schwarzenegger's budget rollout will be a double dose of fiscal reality. That's because he's going to release two spending plans. One in the event the ballot measures pass next week - and the other if they fail. But Schwarzenegger Spokesman Aaron McLear says both versions will be heavy on cuts:
"What you probably won't see are tax increases. That's not something that the Governor is interested in doing. The legislature doesn't seem interested in doing that, so with that not an option, I think you're going to see some very severe cuts," McLear says.
Schwarzenegger has talked about slashing school spending, releasing thousands of prisoners, laying off state workers and borrowing from local governments. McLear says the Governor is also looking at selling off surplus properties - like San Quentin State prison. He says the deficit will be at least 15 billion dollars next year - and that would grow to 21 billion if the ballot measures fail.
The measures would restrain state spending, extend tax increases and allow the state to borrow against the lottery. They're trailing in the polls. Opponents of the propositions call Schwarzenegger's move a scare tactic. The Governor was originally scheduled to release his budget after the election.
