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Calif. GOP shakeup bodes ill for $42B budget plan
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 7:59 PM

Just as Republicans do not want new taxes, Democrats will not agree to a cuts-only budget fix.

The Senate was continuing to vote on the tax portion of the legislative package every hour. Senate leader Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento said his fellow Democrats intend to stay until they secure the remaining Republican vote.

"We are not starting over," he said during a Capitol news conference. "We negotiated a bipartisan budget in good faith. We're going to work today, and we're going to stay here day and night until one more senator steps up and puts California first."

Cogdill's ouster and the vote to replace him with Hollingsworth was not unanimous within the GOP caucus. Senators that have been discussed as potentially supporting the budget fix - Roy Ashburn of Bakersfield, Dave Cox of Fair Oaks and Abel Maldonado of Santa Maria - abstained from voting on the new leader.

"I just can't believe in the middle of the night we would oust our leader," Maldonado said. "I didn't support Dave Cogdill for leader, but I didn't vote to vote him out today. It's the wrong time to make a change in the process."

The pressure on California lawmakers to pass a spending package has intensified during the budget impasse. Layoff notices went out Tuesday to state agencies and hundreds of public works projects will lose state funding on Thursday unless a budget fix is approved, throwing some 92,000 construction workers out of a job.

The proposed tax hikes include an increase of 1 cent on the dollar in the state sales tax, a 12-cent-a-gallon hike in the gasoline tax and a boost in vehicle licensing fees.

The measure also includes a one-time, 5 percent income tax surcharge for taxpayers who owe money to the state at the end of 2009. The surcharge would drop to 2.5 percent if California gets its expected share of money from the federal stimulus bill.

Many of the tax hikes would remain in effect through the 2013-14 fiscal year if voters approve a cap on state spending during a May special election.

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Associated Press Writers Steve Lawrence, Judy Lin and Juliet Williams contributed to this report.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.


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