Since then, state senators and Assembly members have been hard-pressed to agree on how to balance the budget. Many Republicans have been toeing the no-new-taxes line, and most Democrats say the only way to correct the deficit is to cut programs.
Local legislators said they have no extended vacation plans in the works as they stare down the prospect of balancing the state budget.
“This is supposed to be their summer break, but they are supposed to be working on the budget,” said Wendy Gordon, spokeswoman for state Sen. Jack Scott. “They are not in session hearing bills; there are no committee hearings. They might have some informal committee meetings, but they will be working on the big-picture item. It’s not business as usual.”
Many officials have said they hope to avoid a repeat of last year, when the budget was not passed until Aug. 21. Payments to top-level staffers and lawmakers were delayed by nearly two months, and $1.1 billion in state funds were not doled out on time to community colleges, school districts and state vendors.
“When they stopped paying bills, everybody was grumbling,” Gordon said.
Last year, checks to about 500 state employees and salaries for lawmakers were delayed, said Garin Casaleggio, a spokesman in the office of Controller John Chiang.
In addition to paychecks that lawmakers will receive after they balance a budget, some legislators will be paid $170 for each day they work on the budget in Sacramento during the summer break, which is supposed to be July 3 to Aug. 4, Casaleggio said.
