Working with revenues that he said increased “beyond all
projections,” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger released a $131.1
billion 2006-2007 state budget on Friday, with the largest portion
of money going to education.
Schwarzenegger announced he would use the unanticipated funds to
pay off some of the state’s debt, put money on reserve, and
spend $13.8 billion more than the state spent in the 2005-2006
fiscal year.
Overall, the budget grew by more than $15 billion, up from
$115.7 billion in 2005-2006.
The relative health of the state budget has implications for
University of California funding, and for the amount students will
be required to pay in fees for the 2006-2007 academic year.
In January, Schwarzenegger proposed to buy out student fee
increases for 2006-2007 so the cost of UC education could remain at
the current level for at least another year. That would make next
year the first time since the 2002-2003 academic year that students
would not experience a hike in fees.
Over the past several years, the UC has experienced sharp
funding cuts due to the state’s struggling economy, and
student fees have been raised accordingly.
“California is experiencing a pretty healthy increase in
revenues,” said Steven Frates, a senior fellow at Claremont
McKenna College’s Rose Institute of State and Local
Government. “My sense is that as long as revenues continue
increasing the way they are … there would be less pressure to
increase student fees.”
With more than $55 million going to education ““ compared
to about $50 million last year ““ Schwarzenegger said
“education is now fully funded. … This is a cause of
celebration.”
But some have said they believe there is more behind
Schwarzenegger’s budget decisions than the
“passion” he said he has for education. This November,
Schwarzenegger will run for re-election against either State
Treasurer Phil Angelides or State Controller Steve Westly, who are
competing in the Democratic primary election in June.
State Assembly Speaker Fabien Nuñez, D-Los Angeles,
referred to “the governor’s election-year budget”
in a statement Friday.
In another statement, Angelides said Schwarzenegger’s
budget has an election-year calculation to quiet his enemies.
“He’s just trying to save his hide,” Angelides
said. “He’s really not trying to fight for those young
people.”
Angelides said the governor’s plan does not go far enough
to pay down the state’s debt and lower student fees.
The surge of income from taxes comes in part from the tax cuts
President Bush made in 2003, Frates said.
“As economic activity picked up from the so-called Bush
tax cuts in 2003, that particularly benefits California because
more people are making more money and paying more state
taxes,” he said.
But there are also “a few dark clouds” in the
budget, which cast a shadow on an otherwise optimistic year
overall, said Steve Maviglio, a spokesman for Nuñez.
He said the lawsuits California is currently facing, which could
cost the state up to $2 billion, are cause for concern.
Another concern with the state budget is the amount it allocated
to fund children’s health care, which is $24 million above
the amount set out in the January proposal.
But even with this increase, Sen. Wesley Chesbro, D-Arcata, said
Schwarzenegger has not given enough to fulfill his pledge to
provide coverage for the estimated 800,000 without health care.
With reports from Bruin wire services.