In response to Governor Schwarzenegger’s harsh letter to the Democrat-controlled Legislature about the recently adjourned emergency budget session (VIEW LETTER), Sen. Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga) again called for the Legislature to get serious about fixing the state’s dire fiscal problem by making necessary budget cuts and jump-starting private sector job creation.
“The Governor called the Legislature into an emergency session in January to deal with a $6.6 billion mid-year budget shortfall,” said Dutton, who serves as the Vice Chair of the Senate Budget Committee. “The only thing extraordinary about the 8th Extraordinary Session was an extraordinary failure by my Democrat colleagues to support real solutions.”
Senate Republicans introduced 24 legislative measures into the 8th Extraordinary Session to jolt the economy back to life, while at the same time supporting the necessary cuts the governor proposed to solve the state’s immediate budget deficit.
“Senate Republicans put important job creation bills on the table and the Democrats rejected or ignored every single one of them,” Senator Dutton said. “This fiscal crisis would not be nearly as painful if Democrats had joined Republicans years ago by supporting legislation that would have truly stimulated California’s private sector economy.”
Among the proposals made by Republicans that were killed or delayed by Democrats included measures by Senator Dutton (SBX8 70) and Sen. Dave Cox (R-Fair Oaks), (SBX8 66) that would have created jobs by reducing regulations that currently hurt employers and employees alike.
Senator Dutton supports the governor’s request that the Legislature pass a $10,000 tax credit for first time home buyers and a tax incentive of $3,000 for every new employee a business hires.
“Families are hurting,” Senator Dutton said. “Statewide unemployment is still at a staggering 12.5 percent. It’s horribly wrong for the state to continue spending money it does not have while the average family in California is struggling to get by.
“I hope my Democrat colleagues will join Republicans by enacting real solutions to California’s economic and fiscal crisis,” Senator Dutton concluded.
From the office of Senator Dutton