Assembly speaker Herb Wesson proposed $179 million in higher
education cuts Wednesday as part of a proposal to compromise with
Republicans over the state budget.
Wesson’s proposal of cuts and borrowing would have
decreased the state’s deficit to somewhere between $8 and $13
billion, but it was rejected on the same day by Republican
leaders.
Still, some members said the proposal was a step in the right
direction toward settling the deficit.
“It’s the beginning of a conversation here,”
said Carol Liu, D-Pasadena. “We have to start
someplace.”
Estimates of the state’s deficit vary, but some place it
as high as $34.6 billion for the 2003-2004 fiscal year.
Budget cuts approved last month are expected to eliminate $8
billion in spending over the next 18 months, as legislators debate
over additional solutions.
Wesson’s proposal called for $2.5 billion in cuts and $1.2
billion in various shifts from one state fund to another.
In return for these solutions, Wesson hoped Republicans would
support a proposal to issue bonds to fund the state’s pension
plan.
This would free up $2.2 billion in cash, which could be used
immediately to fix the state’s budget deficit.
The Republican leader in budget negotiations, Assemblyman John
Campbell, R-Irvine, said Wesson’s proposed cuts were
insufficient to garner Republican support for issuing the
bonds.
“We will accept it, but only if it includes enough
reductions to have a budget with no tax increases,” Campbell
said.
Avoiding tax increases has long been the Republican
party’s highest priority in budget talks.
While Gov. Gray Davis proposed $8.2 billion in tax increases in
January, Wesson’s proposal did not include tax increases in
an attempt to win Republican support.
Campbell called Wesson’s proposal “a few partial
thoughts” and said it focuses on cuts that were too far in
the future.
“The speaker made a good faith effort, but a lot of things
he proposed we can’t enact now,” Campbell said.
Wesson, who represents UCLA’s district, proposed $150
million in unallocated cuts to the University of California and
California State University.
Any further cuts to the university’s educational program
could be “very serious,” said UC press aide Hanan
Eisenman.
If Wesson’s proposal was approved, it would have given the
UC responsibility over deciding what to cut.
Liu, chair of the assembly’s higher education committee,
said she would prefer cuts targeted at specific areas.
“I’d rather direct it more toward administration and
stay away from student services and student classes,” Liu
said.