Evans calls Schwarzenegger
prison plan 'radical'

By DEREK J. MOORE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s address to lawmakers Wednesday was the opening bell of what promises to be another contentious round of budget negotiations.

And no surprise, Assemblywoman Noreen Evans led the chorus of those who say they are skeptical of the governor’s initial proposals. The Santa Rosa Democrat was often at odds with the governor last summer when she presided over a joint Assembly and Senate Budget Committee, leading to some tense exchanges. She is the vice-chairwoman this year.

Evans expects to retain her role as chairwoman of the Assembly Budget Committee, though the incoming Assembly Speaker could change that. Until that happens, Evans will again have a platform from which to advocate for her party’s initiatives and exchange punches with the governor’s office.

In a hint of things to come, Evans on Wednesday labeled the proposals Schwarzenegger outlined in his State of the State speech, including a constitutional amendment that she said would privatize prison services, as “radical.”

“I would not support that,” she said.

Other North Coast lawmakers struck a more conciliatory tone. Assemblyman Wes Chesbro, D-Arcata, said he thought Schwarzenegger “tried harder to start off the year by reaching out to us.”

He was particularly moved by the governor’s vow to spare K-12 and higher education from further budget cuts this year.

“It has to be considered a victory in a budget like this if we can hold the line and avoid further cuts in education,” Chesbro said.

Likewise, Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, praised the governor for striking the right tone, noting that Schwarzenegger talked about teamwork and was upbeat.

Unfortunately, his proposals are a rehash that won’t solve the deficit and in some cases will make it worse, he said.

Huffmann said he opposes privatizing prisons and also the governor’s proposal to streamline the construction permit process because he thinks that it is code for environmental rollbacks. “We need to take care of both the environment and the economy and reject these false choices that Republicans seem to present us with every year,"”he said.

Senator Pat Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa, was not at the Capitol Wednesday. Her staff said she was home ill.

Evans said the governor’s promise to protect education had a “hollow ring to it,” contending that he is limited in what he can do by Proposition 98, which was enacted by voters in 1988 as an amendment to the California Constitution and establishes a minimum annual funding level to support K-14 education.

The best Evans could say about the governor’s speech was that she considered it “business-like.”

“What the governor said is one thing. What his proposals said are another,” she said on the Assembly floor, moments after a packed audience that included the governor’s wife had left the cavernous hall.

Political sniping is nothing new of course, especially in this era of hyper-partisanship and term limits. The coming weeks could bring a renewal of the antagonistic relationship between Evans and Schwarzenegger as the state attempts to bridge an estimated $20 billion deficit in the state’s budget.

Schwarzenegger warned Wednesday that more program cuts are coming.

“First, as bitter as the words are in my mouth, we face additional cuts. We know what that means. We know the pain it entail,” he said. “What can we say at this point except the truth? That we have no choice.”

The road to additional cuts will likely run through the bipartisan committee of eight assembly members and eight senators on which Evans serves, last year as chairwoman, this year as vice-chairwoman. The top post alternates between Senate and Assembly.

Last summer, the governor’s staff, and even some Democrats in private, criticized the weeks of public budget hearings that Evans presided over as delaying action on a budget resolution.

Evans blamed the delays on the governor, saying that he waited until the last minute to unload thousands of pages of documents on the committee that included proposals for major cuts, including the elimination of some programs altogether.

Undeterred by the criticism, Evans on Wednesday said she plans to hold “lengthy” public hearings again to address the governor’s latest round of budget cutting proposals.

“The public needs to weigh in on how much cutting of their services they will tolerate,” she said. “It’s my intention to hold lengthy public hearings when we can.”

Schwarzenegger invited every lawmaker to lunch with him Wednesday at the Sutter Club in Sacramento.

Chesbro said he would attend.

Evans was taking a pass.

“I'm busy,” she said.

 

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