Mac Taylor has released a painful fiscal outlook for the state:
"I think it's going to be much much more difficult than last year."
The non-partisan Legislative Analyst says over the next 18 months lawmakers and the Governor will have to come up with 25.4 billion dollars in solutions. He says part of the problem this year is that things lawmakers counted on - like more money from the federal government and cutting prison costs - aren't happening:
"If that's not bad enough, I think the constraints on the legislature and certain key considerations will make dealing with that problem even more difficult."
Taylor says that includes limited options for cutting
education funding and new voter-approved restrictions for raising
fees and spending local government money. Temporary tax
increases are also set to expire. Taylor says budget
shortfalls are expected to stay in the 20 billion dollar range for
the next five years or so, but the state will finally start to see
modest economic growth.
