Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the state’s $143 billion spending budget Tuesday after months of standoffs with state lawmakers and amid speculation that he would veto the proposed state budget.
The governor and some state lawmakers were at an impasse over the budget for 85 days, which is the longest California has gone without a budget in the state’s history.
The governor signed the budget after it was reformed and certain provisions were revised.
The stalemate between the governor and state lawmakers came from disagreements over how to handle the state’s $15.2-billion deficit.
The governor was previously opposed to a provision in the proposed budget which would call for borrowing from taxpayers and threatened to veto the budget if it included such a provision.
But Democratic state lawmakers, who were proponents of the proposal and passed the provision in the legislature without the support of Republican lawmakers, said they would have the number of votes necessary to override the governor’s veto, if it came to that.
In a statement from the governor’s Web site, Schwarzenegger said that under the reformed budget, money will not be borrowed from voter-approved local government or transportation funds.
"These budget reforms, when approved by voters, will finally put California’s budget on a path toward long-term fiscal stability,” he said.