Maybe you had a relaxing weekend, but a lot of legislative staffers and lobbyists did not. They've been busy writing and analyzing hundreds of pages of nitty-gritty budget details crammed into dozens of so-called "trailer bills" - and the devil is in those details. The bills contain the substance of the deal announced last week by Democratic leaders and the governor. And they're expected to come up for votes on the Senate and Assembly floor late Tuesday afternoon.
The reason those votes are set for Tuesday is because Wednesday is the last day Governor Brown can act on the first batch of budget bills lawmakers passed earlier this month. That includes the spending plan itself, and that's where the rest of the suspense comes in. The governor can use his blue pencil to make line-item vetoes - and he is expected to do so.
