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<br />'State Budget' Continued from Page 1... <br /> <br /> <br />In this photo released by Capitol Weekly, League <br />President Jim Madaffer motions for the state 10 <br />.cut up the credit card. at a press conference held <br />Wednesday, July 23, 2008 on the East Steps of <br />the Capitol Building. (Capitol Weekly <br />PhotO/Malcolm Maclachlan) <br /> <br />8A <br />Page 2 <br /> <br />In a symbolic action that got him on the cover of <br />the July 24 issue of Capitol Weekly, Madaffer <br />whipped out a credit card and said that state <br />leaders needed to stop looking to local <br />governments to bail them out of yet another <br />budget problem. (The full Capitol Weekly article <br />can be found online. <br />htto:/I\NWW .capltolweekIV.netlindex. oho? adctlid=v <br />%7Cia2a43wvsI8550%7Cx61 Click the PDF icon <br />to access the story.) <br /> <br />"Twice in the last four years, California voters <br />have sent an unequivocal mandate they wanted <br />revenues that are dedicated for local governments <br />and for transportation protected from raids by the <br />state. It's time that the state of California cut up its <br />transportation and local government credit cards <br />and address the structural deficit without further <br />raids of money dedicated to critical services," said <br />Madaffer. <br /> <br />City and transportation leaders communicated that <br />the Legislature needs to balance the state's <br />budget without using local government funds. The <br />state has a variety of viable options to achieve a <br />balanced budget, by increasing efficiencies, <br />cutting spending, and increasing revenues. The <br />current budget situation is not a "severe state <br />fiscal hardship" warranting the borrowing of local <br />government and transportation funds through <br />provisions in Propositions 1 A (local property tax <br />revenues) and 42 (transportation funding). <br /> <br />Several council members from the Sacramento Valley region also participated in the press <br />conference including: <br /> <br />. Bob McGarvey, council member, Rancho Cordova <br />. Woody Culleton, council member, Paradise <br />. Scott Lotter, council member, Paradise <br /> <br />Other speakers at the event included: <br /> <br />. Jim Earp, executive director, California Alliance for Jobs <br />. Allan Zaremberg, president, California Chamber of Commerce <br />. Mark Watts, executive director, Transportation California <br />. Josh Shaw, executive director, California Transit Association <br /> <br />Press Coverage <br /> <br />There was considerable press turnout with representatives from TV, radio and print media outlets <br />including: <br /> <br />. Riverside Press Enterprise <br />. San Jose Mercury News <br />. San Francisco Chronicle <br />. KCRA- TV3 (NBC) <br />. CTNS-TV Statewide State Capitol Feed <br />. KXTV- TV1 0 (ABC) <br /> <br />2 <br />