Senators will disclose cuts after governor OKs budget

State senators approved a $145 billion budget Tuesday, after a monthlong standoff between Senate Republicans and Democrats.

Republicans got a key concession, a promise from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to reduce the deficit to zero by slicing $700 million in spending, but Huntington Beach Sen. Tom Harman said they’re not disclosing where the cuts will come from until the governor follows through.

“It fully funded education, it fully funded public safety, [and] there is a fairly substantial reserve fund,” Harman said. “We felt like we did succeed in getting some of the things we wanted.”

Harman said the GOP also got Democrats to agree to changes in the California Environmental Quality Act to limit certain lawsuits. But despite those concessions, the 15-member Senate GOP caucus only cast the two required votes to pass a budget.

Every Republican other than Santa Maria Sen. Abel Maldonado — who first broke ranks Aug. 1 — and minority leader Dick Ackerman voted against the budget.

The failure to pass a budget meant some agencies that depend on state funding, such as schools, day cares and elder care facilities, had to borrow money to pay their bills for several weeks.

Harman said they’ll start getting checks in a day or two, and they’ll get everything they are entitled to, but agencies that took out loans to fill the gap will have to cover the interest.

— Alicia Robinson