Why I voted for the state budget

As published in the Santa Barbara News Press.

On July 24, I joined Democrats and Republicans and voted for the California state budget. As you know, California is in a fiscal crisis. Our $24 billion budget deficit was one of several serious problems facing California, like mounting job losses and plunging home values.

Some special interests advocated for higher taxes. However, I worked with members of both political parties to pass a responsible budget that cut wasteful government spending, made significant reforms to broken programs, preserved as much as possible essential services like education, health care and law enforcement, and did not raise taxes.

There were 32 different bills that made up the budget package, and while there were bills I didn't support, I supported the majority of them because no one wins when there is a $24 billion budget deficit. Democrats don't win. Republicans don't win. Working families don't win. It was crucial that legislators came together to form a compromise on the budget that stopped the state from issuing IOUs and restored some semblance of fiscal sanity.

Unfortunately, every government program received some cuts. But I worked with everyone to ensure that there were dramatic cuts to wasteful government spending. For example, I authored Senate Bill 63, which eliminated the Integrated Waste Management Board. This board paid members $132,178 a year to meet just one or two times a month. Members of this board, who are mostly termed-out legislators, were making about twice as much as our teachers, police officers and firefighters for one-tenth the amount of work.

Outrageous examples like this are part of the reason that we faced such a staggering budget deficit. My legislation abolished this board. Political paybacks like this should be the first thing on the chopping block, not the last.

The budget also contains numerous other significant reforms that promote government efficiency and allow us to save billions of badly needed taxpayer dollars over the coming years. These reforms include greater accountability over state programs like CalWORKs and eliminating fraud and abuse in the In Home Support Services program.

The budget also put an end to automatic cost-of-living adjustments and has eliminated and consolidated dozens of other boards and commissions in addition to the Integrated Waste Management Board.

While this budget vote was one of the toughest votes for many legislators, including myself, it was a necessary compromise that had to be made. In any compromise, there is always going to be parts that you don't agree with or bills you'd rather not vote for, but this was a crucial step that had to be taken for California to be able to move from economic disaster to stability.

I have long advocated that California live within its means and cut wasteful government spending. I hope this budget shortfall is a teachable moment and California has learned that we cannot spend money that we don't have. Our economy can't sustain it.

Ultimately, the two best things to come from this budget are that we cut wasteful government spending and did not raise taxes. But unfortunately, to close the $24 billion budget deficit, we had to reduce funding for many important services.

Now that we have successfully passed a bipartisan state budget, we must take steps to create jobs and improve our economy. We must focus on creating a business-friendly job environment in order to move away from the cycle of budget shortfalls.

I reject the old politics that offers a false choice between higher taxes verses lower spending to improve California's economy. I think there is a third way.

California needs to transition to a more renewable energy-efficient economy. This will create jobs, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, improve the environment and lower energy prices. Endless opportunities exist in furthering solar, wave and wind technology.

As your state senator, I'm committed to working with everyone, regardless of political party, to change California's economy and fundamentally change how we tackle the budget.