Capitol Report

February 26th, 2009

Why We Need Real Budget Reform
By Senator Mark Wyland (R-Carlsbad)

A problem we experience too often in the Legislature is the habit of talking past each other. Once floor debates get going, microphones go up because one person wants to discuss what they genuinely believe, and immediately thereafter another microphone flies up in support of the opposite view. We see it all too often.
Going forward, I believe we need to really listen and hear each other more.

I have a proposal that would help us do that by taking one year of our two year session and work on only the budget and oversight.

If we had the time to drill down on the budget I think legislators would compromise and agree much more often than we do now. But the system we have is a bill factory and until that process is reformed, we will never get the time we need to understand the budget.

Senator Mark Wyland represents the people of the 38th Senate District, which includes cities in north San Diego County and the south Orange County cities of San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano.

Senator Mark Wyland
1910 Palomar Point Way, Suite 105
Carlsbad, California 92008
760.931.2455 Office
email: senator.wyland@sen.ca.gov

Assemblyman Martin Garrick Issues Statement on Budget Passage

“I am extremely disappointed that California taxpayers will be asked to bear the burden of decades of government overspending. Asking hard-working families to find more tax dollars to support a complete lack of fiscal accountability is irresponsible at best. To add insult to injury, we have asked taxpayers to support a ballot measure that blackmails them into more than four years of higher taxes in exchange for a spending cap that is not strong enough to curb out-of-control spending. The word “compromise” has been used to the point of exhaustion in Sacramento but the only thing that has been compromised is the future well-being of our state’s economic climate, our business community, and the ability of taxpayers to make ends meet.”

Assemblyman Martin Garrick serves the communities of Carlsbad, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe, San Marcos, Vista, and portions of San Diego, Escondido and Oceanside as the Assemblyman for the 74th District.