(04-09) 04:00 PDT Riverside - --
Gov. Jerry Brown signaled Friday that he may change strategy and push the Legislature to approve tax extensions and increases before voters have a chance to weigh in on the issue.
Under this new plan being considered by the Democratic governor, Californians would get to vote on whether to undo any tax hikes or extensions imposed by the Legislature and governor.
The governor promised during his campaign and after his election that he would not increase taxes to help solve the state's budget crisis without asking voters for their approval. Brown said Republicans, however, have blocked his attempts to bring the tax question to voters in a special election before the start of the new fiscal year, July 1.
Brown rejected the notion that such a plan would violate his promise, which was central in his campaign. "I'll keep my campaign promise," he said. "You watch, you'll see."
The governor has said a vote could be held as soon as September.
If voters decided to rescind any Legislature-approved taxes, then an all-cuts budget would be triggered, Brown said.
Brown is working with the Legislature to find a solution to California's remaining $15.4 billion deficit before the start of the fiscal year on July 1.
"Right now, you can't have an election in June. It's too late, OK?" Brown said to reporters after meeting with county law enforcement officials. "So either we crash over the cliff or we come up with something else."
The governor will release his updated plan for solving the state's remaining deficit in mid-May.
Brown made the comments in Riverside, on the first leg of what he says will be a statewide tour to hear for himself what an all-cuts solution to the state's deficit would mean for California. Earlier, he visited an elementary school that largely serves non-native English speakers in a poorer part of this city where he gave a frank accounting of the state's fiscal hole.
"I'm not here as part of some campaign," Brown told the approximately 60 invited education officials from the area who gathered in the school's cafeteria. "I'm really here to get some information and to give voice to you here in Riverside County, to learn for myself some of the practical implications of what we're facing."
He got a firsthand look at what previous budget cuts from the state's persistent deficits have meant in this city, as he visited a fourth-grade classroom holding 35 students. Last year, the classroom had 22 students, their teacher said, saying she has had to cut back on the time dedicated to studying California's history.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/08/BA8G1IT5LO.DTL#ixzz1J9xWb55p
Gov. Jerry Brown signaled Friday that he may change strategy and push the Legislature to approve tax extensions and increases before voters have a chance to weigh in on the issue.
Under this new plan being considered by the Democratic governor, Californians would get to vote on whether to undo any tax hikes or extensions imposed by the Legislature and governor.
The governor promised during his campaign and after his election that he would not increase taxes to help solve the state's budget crisis without asking voters for their approval. Brown said Republicans, however, have blocked his attempts to bring the tax question to voters in a special election before the start of the new fiscal year, July 1.
Brown rejected the notion that such a plan would violate his promise, which was central in his campaign. "I'll keep my campaign promise," he said. "You watch, you'll see."
The governor has said a vote could be held as soon as September.
If voters decided to rescind any Legislature-approved taxes, then an all-cuts budget would be triggered, Brown said.
Brown is working with the Legislature to find a solution to California's remaining $15.4 billion deficit before the start of the fiscal year on July 1.
"Right now, you can't have an election in June. It's too late, OK?" Brown said to reporters after meeting with county law enforcement officials. "So either we crash over the cliff or we come up with something else."
The governor will release his updated plan for solving the state's remaining deficit in mid-May.
Brown made the comments in Riverside, on the first leg of what he says will be a statewide tour to hear for himself what an all-cuts solution to the state's deficit would mean for California. Earlier, he visited an elementary school that largely serves non-native English speakers in a poorer part of this city where he gave a frank accounting of the state's fiscal hole.
"I'm not here as part of some campaign," Brown told the approximately 60 invited education officials from the area who gathered in the school's cafeteria. "I'm really here to get some information and to give voice to you here in Riverside County, to learn for myself some of the practical implications of what we're facing."
He got a firsthand look at what previous budget cuts from the state's persistent deficits have meant in this city, as he visited a fourth-grade classroom holding 35 students. Last year, the classroom had 22 students, their teacher said, saying she has had to cut back on the time dedicated to studying California's history.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/08/BA8G1IT5LO.DTL#ixzz1J9xWb55p
