California Legislature Approves State Budget With Tax Increases – GOP Senator Abel Maldonado Provides Swing Vote

Democrat California State Senate leader Darrell Steinberg got his one Republican vote in the name of Republican Senator Abel Maldonado and with it the California Legislature went on to approve the state budget with tax increases.

Voting at dawn to end a three-month impasse, the California Legislature passed a budget package that addresses the state’s massive deficit with billions of dollars in new taxes and program cuts after Democrats and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reached a deal with a GOP holdout.

Sen. Abel Maldonado of Santa Maria provided the final Republican vote needed to pass a spending plan, which includes more than $12 billion in tax hikes. In exchange, Democrats agreed to rewrite election rules that Maldonado said had allowed the Capitol to become paralyzed by partisanship, leading the state to the brink of financial ruin.

And, the funny thing is that this budget does not solve California’s long term structural budget deficit problems and relies on a special election on May 19, 2009 to ratify some of the funding changes.

GOP Senator Maldonado in speaking in favor of the state budget acknowledged that his political careeer may be over in voting for these tax increases.

Maldonado is at least RIGHT on this.

More later…..