Jul 6, 2009 12:53 pm US/Pacific
Assembly Speaker Threatens To Boycott Budget Talks
SACRAMENTO (CBS13/AP) ―
Should California pass a budget revision or reform the budget process? In a clash of power, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass are arguing over just that question.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is pushing for reforms to state programs that he says are fraudulent or wasteful as California faces a $26.3 billion deficit.
But Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, a Los Angeles Democrat, says the governor's push for reforms is holding up negotiations over closing the one-year shortfall.
"And what's most important is that we close the deficit. The issues of reform I think are critical but we can begin the reform process the day after the budget revision is signed," said Assembly Speaker Bass.
Now Speaker Bass says she will skip the next meeting of the Big 5 until she is confident that reforms will not be part of the discussion.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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