Schwarzenegger to maintain Prop 98

Gov. Schwarzenegger announced the May Revision to the state budget Wednesday, the last step before the legislature begins to debate his proposals.

Schwarzenegger’s budget reveals that the state’s revenue (money coming in) is still declining, and the state is facing its worst financial crisis in recent memory — a $15.2 billion deficit.

The revision restores some of the funding that was originally slated to be cut from education, bringing overall spending back up to the minimum amount guaranteed by Proposition 98, cutting funding by $3.9 billion.

To address the rest of the deficit, Schwarzenegger proposes expanding and borrowing against the future earnings of the California lottery and deep cuts to health and other social services. The lottery proposal, however, caps the amount of money the lottery sends to education at $1.2 billion per year (instead of 34 percent).

More information will begin to be released from budget watchdogs like the California Budget Project and the Legislative Analyst’s Office in coming days, so keep an eye out for more news and detail. The threat to California education has not passed; the budget won’t be approved until sometime at the end of the summer.

Tags: budget, california, california budget project, governor, proposition 98, schwarzenegger