The full membership of the Legislature has returned to the Capitol, with both Assembly and Senate floor sessions slated for the early afternoon. They are beginning the 2008 session “with another multibillion-dollar budget deficit hanging over their heads and dozens of leftover issues on their agendas, including an ambitious $14 billion health coverage expansion.”
On Tuesday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will deliver his annual State of the State address. and on Thursday, the Governor will “declare a fiscal emergency and offer proposals for slashing state programs now and outline a slim budget for the next fiscal year.”
CALCASA will continue to urge the Governor and legislators to ensure that dollars designated for crime victims stay with victims and resist the temptation to borrow against the Crime Victims Compensation Fund as a way to address the budget shortfall.