The budget that Governor Schwarzenegger signed in the fall is already out of balance. That's why he plans to call an emergency session on Monday, requiring lawmakers to address the issue right away. Aaron McLear is a spokesman for Schwarzenegger:
"We have a deficit in the current year budget, you know it was, about six billion dollars or so and the Governor wants to solve as much as possible before he leaves. He thinks that's the responsible thing to do. The alternative would be to say, well that's too bad, leave it up to the next guy."
The next guy - Jerry Brown - will have to deal with that six
billion - along with 19 billion more, if lawmakers don't come up
with any solutions this month. Brown has called a budget
forum in Sacramento next week. He's invited all lawmakers as
well as finance officials for a detailed assessment of the budget
mess.