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SACRAMENTO -
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will force state workers to take a third unpaid furlough day every month if lawmakers do not pass a balanced budget by June 30, his office announced today.
A third furlough day would amount to nearly a 15% pay cut for the state's workforce, which has been ordered to stay home two days a month without pay since February.
"It's clear that if the Legislature does not send a full budget solution to my desk by June 30, California will face an extreme cash-flow problem that will threaten our ability to pay for vital services," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "I am directing all agencies to prepare to implement a third furlough day for all employees beginning July 1 in the event that no budget solution is in place by that date."
July 1 is the beginning of the new fiscal year.
Also today, Republican state senators blocked several budget revisions that included a $15 hike in the annual vehicle license fee to help fund state parks and a new tax on homeowners' insurance to pay for emergency systems.
Other provisions would employ accounting maneuvers to change a balance sheet that currently shows a $24-billion deficit. Democrats could revive the measures later.
It was the third straight day that GOP lawmakers voted against Democratic moves to reduce the budget gap. Senate GOP leader Dennis Hollingsworth of Murrieta derided "what amounts to a political drill" over a package that doesn't close the full deficit.
Democrats pressed the measures, along with those rejected earlier this week, as necessary to prevent the state from having to issue IOUs instead of paying its bills next week, when it is projected to run out of cash. Controller John Chiang has said he may have to begin issuing IOUs on July 2.
"We have less than 100 hours to get our act together," said Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter).
One measure rejected today would force a large number of Californians to pay their taxes sooner, including a 10% increase in their income tax withholding. It also would impose a new tax withholding on payments to independent contractors and force businesses and the self-employed to pay a higher percentage of their estimated taxes earlier in the year.
A third furlough day would amount to nearly a 15% pay cut for the state's workforce, which has been ordered to stay home two days a month without pay since February.
"It's clear that if the Legislature does not send a full budget solution to my desk by June 30, California will face an extreme cash-flow problem that will threaten our ability to pay for vital services," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "I am directing all agencies to prepare to implement a third furlough day for all employees beginning July 1 in the event that no budget solution is in place by that date."
July 1 is the beginning of the new fiscal year.
Also today, Republican state senators blocked several budget revisions that included a $15 hike in the annual vehicle license fee to help fund state parks and a new tax on homeowners' insurance to pay for emergency systems.
Other provisions would employ accounting maneuvers to change a balance sheet that currently shows a $24-billion deficit. Democrats could revive the measures later.
It was the third straight day that GOP lawmakers voted against Democratic moves to reduce the budget gap. Senate GOP leader Dennis Hollingsworth of Murrieta derided "what amounts to a political drill" over a package that doesn't close the full deficit.
Democrats pressed the measures, along with those rejected earlier this week, as necessary to prevent the state from having to issue IOUs instead of paying its bills next week, when it is projected to run out of cash. Controller John Chiang has said he may have to begin issuing IOUs on July 2.
"We have less than 100 hours to get our act together," said Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter).
One measure rejected today would force a large number of Californians to pay their taxes sooner, including a 10% increase in their income tax withholding. It also would impose a new tax withholding on payments to independent contractors and force businesses and the self-employed to pay a higher percentage of their estimated taxes earlier in the year.
