Governor-elect Jerry Brown returns from a post-election vacation this week. Now that he’s back in California, he’s expected to join in the budget talks starting Tuesday.
Brown made a brief visit to Sacramento right after the election, and then went on vacation. While he was gone, the Legislative Analyst revealed that next year’s budget will come with a $19 billion shortfall, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced he’ll call a special session of the legislature to deal with a leftover $6 billion gap in this year’s spending plan.
Schwarzenegger says he spoke to governor-elect Brown last week, and will continue to work with him.
“We have to do everything right now to help the next administration to go through this transition period,” said Schwarzenegger. “To have our office available, to have our budget people available at all times when they need it day and night and that I’m available for them.”
Brown’s spokesman, Evan Westrup, stayed with Brown after the campaign. He said although the governor-elect was on vacation, the budget team was hard at work. He said the state’s fiscal problems are the transition team’s top priority.
