Budget Buckle-Down Time

Most of the wrangling since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger presented his initial state budget in January has been place-holding -- a lot of lobbying and arguing. True, the legislative budget committees went to work earlier than normal and have made progress in analyzing the spending plan and approving noncontroversial items. But not much progress could be made on major issues. Now, with the governor’s annual May revision in hand, the Legislature this week gets down to brass tacks. What both sides will march to work today thinking about is clarified: education funding.

New revenue that Schwarzenegger sunnily crowed about should slide grating issues such as transportation funding and the state’s contribution to local governments off the table. This leaves a relatively minor amount to pump into education, the other acute sufferer of the last several years.

What happens next depends on whom you’re listening to. Assembly Budget Committee Chairman John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) said he was shooting to produce a finished legislative version of the budget by June 15. Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) proposed putting Senate budget discussions “into the homestretch bright and early Monday.” The governor said, “I am ready to work together with them.” An early finish would be a happy shock in a state that has suffered chronic deadlock and late budgets.

Then there was Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles), who denounced the governor’s revisions as “a photo-op budget” and declared that Democrats would not retreat from their commitment to education.

Education does need more money, and Schwarzenegger did fail in his promise to fully restore education funds that he withheld to help piece together last year’s budget. But he’s right to propose focused spending, including “combat pay” that could attract better teachers to low-performing schools. Adding to the basic education budget would worsen what Schwarzenegger calls the “autopilot spending” that got the state into such trouble to begin with.

The state still spends more than it takes in, and this budget still uses sleight of hand to deal with the gap. The structural imbalance between spending and revenue has to be fixed, but it won’t be this year.

Timeliness is especially important because of the governor’s threat to call a special November election to put budget caps and other changes before the voters. He has to make a final decision by mid-June. It’s not a happy prospect for ballot-exhausted Californians. A deal to simultaneously finish the budget and cancel the special election is still within hoping distance.