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THE BUDGET STORY - SOME PRESS QUOTES Editorials, Columns, Opeds, Letters to the Editor Sacramento Bee 3/26/03, Other view, Oped by Senator Rico Aller: On car tax, Davis and Westly shouldn't try to deceive voters. "The likelihood that the governor's opinion (on the VLF) will be challenged in court, and that the courts will uphold the constitution and overturn the decision, is great. But, if they don't, you can bet your bottom license sticker there will be a ballot initiative to undo it. I have no doubt that voters will express their view on this issue at the ballot box." SO Union Tribune 3/26/03, State budget gap: Disciplined borrowing may be only way out. "California's budget crisis is so severe that a bipartisan plan to borrow billions of dollars and stretch out the payments over several years should be taken seriously." LA Times 3/23/03, EDITORIAL, Swallowing Hard on Budget. "Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson (D- Culver City) and Senate President Pro Tern John Burton (D -San Francisco) are moving toward consensus on a proposal for fewer cuts in public health coverage and reinstatement of the 'car tax,' the vehicle license fee..." "Because speed is essential, Davis should immediately trigger reinstatement of vehicle license fees, raising an additional $4 billion a year and maintaining the state commitment to local government." North County Times, 3/25/03, A possible way out of budget fiasco found. "A bipartisan group in the Assembly may have hit upon an approach to solving California's budget mess. It's far from ideal, but it's a lot better than what our legislators have come up with so far, which has been half- truths, posturing and bluster... "What's encouraging... is that for the first time this year members of both parties have coalesced behind a realistic plan.... Ugly the plan may be, but it's no uglier than the reality facing California." Sacramento Bee 3/25/03, Dan Walters: Iraq war may be a memory by the time state solves budget crisis "As the deficit numbers and the uncertainties mount, the politics become more complicated and a way out — an exit strategy, as it were — be- comes more elusive. Conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats see this as the mother of all budget battles, one whose outcome will set the tone on spending and taxes in California for years to come. It's entirely possible not only that Califor- nia will begin a new fiscal year on July 1 without a budget, but a new calendar year on Jan. 1 as well. And no one really knows what form this crisis will take." News Articles The Marin Independent Journal, 03/27/03, State seeks help with cutting budget. "California's legislators desperately need the suggestions of local community leaders and officials on how to deal with the state's burgeoning budget deficit. That was the message last night from representatives of the League of California Cities and the California Association of Counties at a meeting of the Marin County Council of Mayors and Councilmembers, several supervisors, local school board presidents and school superinten- dents at the San Rafael Community Center. "Chris McKenzie, the League of California Cities' executive director, said officials fear the deficit will have ballooned from $35 billion to $40 billion by May, when Gov. Gray Davis' revised budget is issued. 'Cuts that need to be made are not being made,' McKenzie said. 'The problem is not getting smaller; it's getting bigger.'" LA Times, 3/27/03, Tax Reform Push Gains Momentum in Crisis. "As California struggles with a historic budget shortfall, a growing number of lawmakers are hoping the crisis finally nudges the Legislature into untangling a state tax system that they argue shortchanges many large coun- ties, including Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego" Continued on Page 8 PAGE 6 /PRIORITY FOCUS Visit the League's Official Web Site -- www.cacities.org