Governor Unveils May Revise of State Budget

Citing a bump in revenues, Gov. Jerry Brown released a revised state budget proposal today that calls for Californians to pay $2 billion less in income taxes than earlier proposed and targets 5,500 state jobs and 43 boards, commissions and departments for elimination.

The Colorado River Board and the Salton Sea Council are among the boards and commissions identified for elimination.

The revised proposal estimates the state deficit at $9.6 billion through June 30, 2012. It increases spending for K-12 education by $3 billion, in accordance with Proposition 98 guarantees, and seeks to create jobs through tax incentives available to enterprise zones.

The governor said the state is expected to take in $6.6 billion more in tax revenues that previously expected over the next 13 months. He cautioned, however, that some taxes still must be extended to avoid devastating cuts and higher deficits later.

“California’s economy is growing, but we still face a $10 billion structural deficit and a wall of debt for years to come,” the governor said. “California’s finances were plunged into turmoil by the great recession and a decade of short-term fixes and fiscal gimmicks. This is not the time to delay or evade. This is the time to put our finances in order.”

Brown said the proposed budget would reduce general fund spending to 1972-’73 levels. He reiterated his call for Californians to vote on proposed extensions of some taxes, noting the earliest practical timeframe would be this fall.

The governor’s revised budget proposal is available here.