Lawmakers wary of governor’s plans

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he doesn’t plan to try to raise taxes to cover the projected $14-billion deficit, but that did little to calm some local lawmakers.

“My fear is there’s going to be no reform and enormous pressure from the spending lobby up here to raise taxes,� Assemblyman Chuck DeVore said, reacting to the governor’s State of the State address Tuesday.

“He said he’s not thinking of raising taxes, and I certainly am not supportive of any tax increase,� state Sen. Tom Harman said. “I’ve been saying in the district that we have a spending problem — not a revenue problem — and that was a verbatim quote he made.�

Assemblyman Van Tran praised the governor for pledging to not raise taxes, and Tran offered his own commitment to the cause.

“I just want to stress to your readers that there will be no taxes, and if there are any attempts on the majority party or the governor to raise taxes, the Republicans will oppose that,� he said. “We’re just going to have to look at our budget and do some very strategic and thoughtful budgeting.�

Schwarzenegger warned of deep budget cuts and suggested asking voters to approve a constitutional amendment that would cap spending and tie it to revenue.

“For several years, we took action that balanced the budget as long as the economy was booming,� he said. “For several years, we kept the budget wolf from the door. But the wolf is back.�

DeVore was not impressed.

“Clearly we’re in a crisis of ... leadership up here,� DeVore said. “The governor and the Democratic majority have only themselves to blame by spending every last penny.�

DeVore is concerned budget cuts would ultimately affect state programs that benefit citizens while maintaining bureaucracy.

The governor’s plans for across-the-board spending cuts could affect things like funding for schools and state parks, and citizens could notice longer lines at agencies like the Department of Motor Vehicles due to staffing cuts, DeVore said.

Harman said he was intrigued by the governor’s proposal to cut state spending by 10% across the board, but didn’t see eye-to-eye with him on a few issues, especially healthcare.

“The real problem we need to address — and we can do it at much less cost — is accessibility,� he said. “We need to make the ability to access the health care system easier, quicker and — frankly — less expensive.�

Harman added that he was disappointed the governor did not address illegal immigration during his remarks.

Tran had low expectations, and he added the speech was the kind of broad rhetoric he had come to expect from such addresses. The real news will come when the state’s budget is released Thursday, he said.

“The devil is in the details,� he said.

CHRIS CAESAR may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or at [email protected]. BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at [email protected].