A POSSIBLE BREAK IN BUDGET STALEMATE?

ASSEMBLY DEM SUPPORTS GOVERNOR’S BUDGET PLAN:

Cathleen Galgiani, an Assembly Democrat from Tracy, is creating shockwaves today around the Capitol. She is the first legislator, to the best of my knowledge, who is now publicly endorsing Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s compromise budget plan.  Galgiani is saying today, “I have decided to break ranks with both my Democratic and Republican colleagues. I am rejecting both sides’ budget proposals and will vote for the taxpayers.”

The Governor’s plan calls for a temporary sales tax increase and in a written statement, Galgiani says, “A short-term 3-year increase of 1 cent in the sales tax along with cuts in expenditures will get California out of this fiscal mess. This short-term increase will be followed by a long-term permanent reduction in sales taxes – a quarter cent below today’s sales tax rate.”

The Governor’s office is of course delighted to see the first sign of movement. Press Secretary Aaron McLear told me today, “The Assemblywoman is right — both Republicans and Democrats should step across the partisan divide to end this budget impasse. That is why the Governor is urging compromise to end the stalemate.”

NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED?

Did Cathleen Galgiani upset her colleagues by breaking ranks with the Democrats?  Take a look at the updated statement issued by Galgiani’s office late today, “Let me make it clear. I would support the Governor’s budget proposal if it reached the floor of the Assembly.  However,  I remain confident that my Democratic colleagues will craft a budget in the next few days, and I will continue to stand with them to protect education and the taxpayers.”

Sounds like Galgiani  ruffled some feathers by showing  too much independence in trying to break the stalemate on her own.  Assembly Democrats have now been locked in a stalemate with Republicans for 73 days.

DMV SHUTS DOWN SATURDAY SERVICE

MOTORISTS ARE THE LATEST BUDGET VICTIMS

The Department of Motor Vehicles announced today it is shutting down its popular Saturday office hours for the second month in a row, because of the budget stalemate.  DMV will shutter 53 field offices around the state on Saturday, September 20. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Executive Order prohibits overtime in non-emergency situations, and the “staff is there on an overtime basis,” DMV Spokesman Mike Marando told me today, adding that DMV’s Saturday service attracted 270,000 Californians last year.

LONGER LINES

“Right now (4:35pm Friday) there is an average one hour wait at DMV’s 135 field offices” Marando noted, saying “the wait numbers are trending up by 20-25 minutes” on average statewide since the Saturday shutdown began. In all, up to 8 million Californians use the DMV field offices each year.

BAY AREA OFFICES

DMV says the following Bay Area field offices will be closed on September 20: Daly City, Oakland Coliseum, Pittsburgh, Redwood City, San Francisco,  San Jose, Santa Clara,  Santa Rosa, Vallejo, Walnut Creek.

One way to beat the lines is to go online. You can access the Department’s Web site at www.dmv.ca.gov 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

REEPS READY TO PLAY HOOKIE

SOME GOP LAWMAKERS TO SKIP TOWN FOR ST. PAUL

California is now 64 days without a budget, but Senator Abel Maldonado (R) Santa Maria is still planning to fly to Minnesota after the Senate ends its session tonight in Sacramento.  As we first reported last week, the McCain campaign asked Maldonado to deliver a nationwide television speech to the GOP convention on Wednesday,  September 3. You can see the speech on TV around 5:45pm California time Wednesday evening.

In an interview last week, Maldonado told me, “I plan on giving a good speech for Senator McCain. Obviously it’s important. It’s great to be able to go to a convention, number one and number two to be asked by obviously a nominee of a party.”

But in the tense political climate around the Capitol, critics charge that leaving Sacramento for a political convention simply reinforces the perception that politicians are more interested in advancing their own agendas ahead of the people they serve.

ONE ASSEMBLYMEMBER ALREADY THERE

I’ve been receiving good information from my sources in Minnesota that at least one Republican Assemblyman is already in St. Paul for the convention and I received confirmation today from the office of Assemblyman Van Tran (R) Costa Mesa. The Assembly has been in recess Monday and Tuesday, but Van Tran apparently plans to stay put for the final two days of the convention on Wednesday and Thursday.

Van Tran’s office sent me a written statement saying, “Serving as a delegate to the Republican National Convention is a responsibility I take seriously.”

But what about his responsibilities to reach a budget deal? Well in his written statement, Van Tran says, “I am following developments in Sacramento closely and trust in Republican Leader Mike Villines to negotiate a budget compromise that is fair for California…I am in regular contact with both the leader’s office and my office and am ready to return to Sacramento at any time.”

But now that California lawmakers have set the record for the latest date ever for a budget agreement, you can bet that Van Tran and other Republicans will be criticized for leaving town…just as Assembly Democrats Fabian Nunez of  Los Angeles, Lori Saldana of San Diego,  Dave Jones of Sacramento  and Budget Chair John Laird of Santa Cruz were blasted last week when they abandoned the Capitol and took off for Denver.