Calif. Voters Torpedo Budget Crisis Measures

(NEWSER) - It’s not easy being an elected official in a time of crisis, but a select few governors are having a particularly tough time. And some of them are even trying to get reelected. Politico looks at the 5 worst-off states:

• California: No surprise here. The state's issuing of IOUs is just the one item on "a list of maladies longer than its famed coastline." At least Arnold Schwarzenegger can't run for another term.

$103B plan delayed a record 85 days by political wrangling

(NEWSER) - Arnold Schwarzenegger signed California’s budget into law today, ending a record 85-day delay, the Sacramento Bee reports. The state has been waiting for the governor’s signature on the $103.4 billion plan to restart payments to nursing homes, community colleges and other service providers. California is expanding the state’s lottery in a gambit to avoid repeating this year’s $15.2 billion budget shortfall. More»

Schwarzenegger, lawmakers dodge veto showdown

(NEWSER) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California state legislature have ended a nasty budget showdown with a compromise expected to be approved today, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. The agreement eliminates extra withholding from workers' paychecks, and bridges a $17 billion budget gap largely by adding penalties on corporations that underpay quarterly taxes and reducing reserve funds.The deal ended an 80-day stand-off in which Schwarzenegger threatened to veto the budget—and lawmakers threatened to override his veto. More»

Showdown ahead with state lawmakers over funding sleight-of-hand

(NEWSER) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is heading for a dramatic and potentially humiliating showdown with the state legislature over the budget, reports the San Jose Mercury News. Schwarzenegger plans to veto the budget which largely relies on accounting sleight-of-hand to close a $15.2 billion shortfall. Legislators say they have enough votes for the first veto override in 30 years. More»

State controller refuses to cut smaller checks

(NEWSER) - Arnold Schwarzenegger upped the ante in his budget standoff with the state legislature yesterday, ordering almost all state workers' pay cut to the federal minimum wage—$7.25 per hour—effective immediately. The State Controller, Democrat John Chiang, says he won’t obey that order, the LA Times reports, but the Department of Personnel Administration says he doesn’t have a choice. The last time Chiang refused to cut worker benefits, in 2008, Schwarzenegger took him to court and won. More»