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Governor, lawmakers try to get public works bond on June ballot
| Monday, Mar 13 2006 7:15 PM
Last Updated: Monday, Mar 13 2006 7:15 PM
Lawmakers made a last-ditch attempt Monday to reach a deal that would put the largest bond measure in California history on the June ballot - an approximately $50 billion package with money for highways, transit, schools, levees and other public works projects.
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"I am very hopeful. I think we're very close," said Assembly Budget Committee chairman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz. "It's just fleshing out the absolute final details and making sure everyone from every caucus is on board."
Despite such displays of optimism, the legislative process that is required to actually place a measure on the ballot remained in flux.
The Assembly repeatedly delayed a meeting that originally was scheduled to take place Monday morning and eventually convened shortly after 6 p.m. There were no plans to convene the Senate, which rejected a nearly $49 billion bond measure early Saturday morning.
"We have not been part of the discussion," said Alicia Dlugosh, spokeswoman for Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and some legislative leaders talked over the weekend to try to keep hopes for an agreement alive after Senate Republicans shot down the $48.8 billion proposal. They said it included too much money for environmental programs and not enough that would go into construction of highways and levee repairs.
Republicans also demanded more money for dams and reservoirs than was in the bill. Democrats had offered $500 million to replace an earthquake-fragile dam in Southern California and another $500 million for additional groundwater storage.
Laird said the weekend gave negotiators time to try to resolve some final stumbling blocks, but Dlugosh said Perata wasn't included in those discussions.
"I think there were just a few things that were unresolved Friday night," Laird said. "Things were about 90 percent of the way there, and I think the weekend allowed us to potentially fill that last gap."
He indicated that the new proposal included some additional funding for reservoirs and "a little something" to scale back environmental reviews.
"But it's not the wholesale thing (Republicans) wanted," he added.
Friday was supposed to be the cutoff date for the Legislature to put measures on the June 6 ballot. Secretary of State Bruce McPherson said last Wednesday that there was some flexibility in that deadline but didn't say how much.
A spokeswoman for McPherson, Nghia Nguyen Demovic, said the secretary of state's office was trying to work out details that would allow lawmakers to add something to the ballot Monday.
"Our office is in constant communications with all the parties involved to keep them apprised of all the activities to ensure a successful administration of the election," she said.
Margita Thompson, Schwarzenegger's press secretary, said the governor's office also was operating under the assumption that Monday was the real deadline.
"Our understanding is it needs to be (done) today...," she said, adding that there were a number of discussions taking place involving members of both houses. "I would anticipate we are all going to be spending a long evening here at the Capitol."
Election officials need time to put the bond proposals on public display, solicit pro and con arguments for voter pamphlets, print those pamphlets and mail them to 12 million households by May 16, in addition to overseas voters.
Schwarzenegger made fixing the state's aging infrastructure, most of which was built in the 1950s and 1960s, his main issue for 2006 after voters shot down all four of the special election initiatives he campaigned for last fall.
On Monday, Schwarzenegger spoke with legislative leaders from both parties and was committing his entire schedule to try to reach a compromise for the June ballot, Thompson said.
The Republican governor initially asked for $68 billion in bonds to help pay for a $222.6 billion, 10-year plan to expand highways, upgrade levees and build new schools, prisons, reservoirs, jails, courthouses and certain other public works projects.
He later asked lawmakers to provide an additional $3.5 billion in bond funds for flood control.
Democrats countered with an offer to approve about $35 billion in bonds, saying the governor's plan would saddle the state with too much debt. They also wanted funding for some items that were not in the governor's proposal, including parks and affordable housing.
The two sides agreed to compromise on the amount of bonds they would ask voters to approve, an amount thought to be between $47 billion and $50 billion. Schwarzenegger also agreed to drop funding for prisons, jails and courthouses and add money for parks, natural resource programs, housing and transit.
The sides have stumbled on other provisions, however, leading to Friday's missed deadline and Monday's last-minute negotiations.
During the Senate session early Saturday morning, Perata said the best opportunity to reach a bond deal for the June ballot had passed lawmakers by and that they should focus on reaching an agreement on a November bond proposal.
On Monday, he indicated a willingness to consider a new proposal, but said he needed to see the details before committing.
Among the issues that concerns Perata is maintaining environmental reviews for major construction projects, Dlugosh said.
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