THAT'S DEBATABLE:Wait for better budget

Fifteen GOP state senators formed a coalition this week refusing to approve the $145-billion bipartisan budget approved by the Assembly on Friday. The senators say the budget needs more cuts that would reduce spending by about $700 million. If it came down to it, would you be willing to shut down the government to force more spending cuts?

The "bipartisan" budget that was approved by the Assembly last week was based on several questionable assumptions, which would almost certainly produce a $2 billion shortfall, on top of the already established $5 billion deficit that we must dig our way out of next year.

Although the architects of the budget maintain that it is "only" out of balance by $699 million, this claim relies on several accounting gimmicks. Therefore, my Senate Republican colleagues and I were tasked to provide a balanced budget, and I am proud to say that we have met and exceeded these expectations. The budget we proposed protects public safety programs and fully funds education. It limits the growth in spending and establishes a surplus of $143 million as opposed to a $699 million deficit in the Democrat-proposed budget.

I will not support a budget that is predicated on the mismanagement of the people's money. The backdoor borrowing and deficit spending must stop. It is imperative that we live within our means, and I am hopeful that my colleagues across the aisle will share our priorities to stop spending more than the state receives.

TOM HARMAN

I voted "no" on the budget. California's budget has grown far too fast in recent years. A budget we cannot afford threatens the economic well-being of the state by threatening tax and fee increases and more bonded debt that will have to be paid back with interest.

Assembly Republicans fought hard to bring fiscal moderation to a fundamentally Democrat budget. The governor proposed deficit spending of $1.6 billion. Democrats boosted this to $2.7 billion. We negotiated that down to about $500 million with further reductions next year — all without hitting education guarantees.

In addition, we negotiated and passed out of the Assembly five tax cuts that addressed key areas of our tax law that have driven business investment and jobs out of the state. If passed by the Senate, these tax cuts will boost California's economy and tax base, paying for themselves over time.

CHUCK DEVORE

As a member of the Assembly who opposed the current budget, I stand by the senators who are working to enact a balanced, responsible budget.

We owe it to the people of California to pass a budget that lives within its means. The Democratic majority claim that this budget deficit is only a half-billion dollars this year, but that is because it relies on gimmicks. The problem will get worse in the future.

As adopted, the structural deficit will grow to be over $5.3 billion next year. It is a mistake to continue pushing the hard decisions off to the future. Instead, we should buckle down now and make the choices we were elected to make.

My commitment is to a budget that makes California's government smaller. We must do a better job of setting our state's priorities and funding those we can afford. While I applaud this budget for not raising taxes, I cannot in good conscience vote to present this budget to the people of California.

VAN TRAN