(Sacramento, CA)—A leader in last year´s budget negotiations, Senator Abel Maldonado today commended the governor for rescinding his earlier threat to close forty eight state parks and reduce the number of lifeguards on state beaches. The first Republican to vociferously protest these cuts, Senator Maldonado repeatedly called on the governor to keep the parks open.
"The second I saw that the governor´s original budget proposal included the closure of parks, I got on the phone with Resources Agency Secretary Mike Chrisman and told him I would do everything in my power to keep these parks open. I went up and down the state praising the importance of our parks. And I took my concerns directly to the governor. Now, just a few months later, I am delighted to see that the governor has listened to the thousands of residents who wrote, called and protested against the park closures. I am proud to say that we fought the good fight. The parks will remain open and available to residents and visitors alike," Maldonado commented.
Similarly, Senator Maldonado took a hard line against cuts to education funding. He voted against the mid-year budget cuts and repeatedly stated that he would not balance the budget on the backs of our students.
"Education must be one of this state´s highest priorities," Maldonado commented. "The fact that the May Revise fully funds education is a testament to that fact. I am glad that the governor has backed off of his earlier proposal to cut education funding by 10 percent. Our students did not create this mess and they should not be punished for our inability to budget effectively in Sacramento."
The governor´s May Revise, which was released today, includes a proposal to borrow against future lottery revenues in order to make up for an over $15 billion deficit. This proposal would have to go to the voters in November. If not approved, a one-cent sales tax increase would be imposed to generate the needed revenues.
"While there are many things that warrant praise about this budget, there are still a lot of programs facing cuts and a lot of problems that have yet to be fixed. This borrowing plan is really just a band-aid and will not fix the innumerable systemic problems that plague our budget system. Every year we get ourselves into this mess. Every year we promise we are going to fix the problem. Every year we do the same thing we did the year before—pass temporary solutions and hope for better news next year.
We still have a lot of work to do. The May Revise gives us a good starting off point but is by no means the end of the conversation. I look forward to working with both sides of the aisle as we debate the merits of the May Revise and other proposals that will be released in the coming month. We owe it to our constituents to come up with a responsible budget for this state.
At the end of the day, we are better off today than we were yesterday. This budget is a giant leap forward from the January Budget Proposal and a step in the right direction," Maldonado concluded.
"The second I saw that the governor´s original budget proposal included the closure of parks, I got on the phone with Resources Agency Secretary Mike Chrisman and told him I would do everything in my power to keep these parks open. I went up and down the state praising the importance of our parks. And I took my concerns directly to the governor. Now, just a few months later, I am delighted to see that the governor has listened to the thousands of residents who wrote, called and protested against the park closures. I am proud to say that we fought the good fight. The parks will remain open and available to residents and visitors alike," Maldonado commented.
Similarly, Senator Maldonado took a hard line against cuts to education funding. He voted against the mid-year budget cuts and repeatedly stated that he would not balance the budget on the backs of our students.
"Education must be one of this state´s highest priorities," Maldonado commented. "The fact that the May Revise fully funds education is a testament to that fact. I am glad that the governor has backed off of his earlier proposal to cut education funding by 10 percent. Our students did not create this mess and they should not be punished for our inability to budget effectively in Sacramento."
The governor´s May Revise, which was released today, includes a proposal to borrow against future lottery revenues in order to make up for an over $15 billion deficit. This proposal would have to go to the voters in November. If not approved, a one-cent sales tax increase would be imposed to generate the needed revenues.
"While there are many things that warrant praise about this budget, there are still a lot of programs facing cuts and a lot of problems that have yet to be fixed. This borrowing plan is really just a band-aid and will not fix the innumerable systemic problems that plague our budget system. Every year we get ourselves into this mess. Every year we promise we are going to fix the problem. Every year we do the same thing we did the year before—pass temporary solutions and hope for better news next year.
We still have a lot of work to do. The May Revise gives us a good starting off point but is by no means the end of the conversation. I look forward to working with both sides of the aisle as we debate the merits of the May Revise and other proposals that will be released in the coming month. We owe it to our constituents to come up with a responsible budget for this state.
At the end of the day, we are better off today than we were yesterday. This budget is a giant leap forward from the January Budget Proposal and a step in the right direction," Maldonado concluded.
