BILL NUMBER:  SB 69
  VETOED	DATE: 06/16/2011




June 16, 2011

To the Members of the California State Legislature:
I am returning Senate Bill 69 and Assembly Bill 98 without my
signature.
In January, I presented a balanced budget solution with a mix of deep
spending cuts and temporary tax extensions subject to voter
approval. My plan would put these extended revenues in a lockbox,
ensuring that they are only used to protect education and public
safety. It would also address California's long term fiscal crisis by
substantially paying down the $35 billion wall of debt built up over
the last decade.
Yet Republicans in the Legislature blocked the right of the people to
vote on this honest, balanced budget.
Meanwhile, Democrats in the Legislature made valiant efforts to
address California's budget crisis by enacting $11 billion in painful
cuts and other solutions. I commend them for their tremendous
efforts to balance the budget in the absence of Republican
cooperation.
Unfortunately, the budget I have received is not a balanced solution.
It continues big deficits for years to come and adds billions of
dollars of new debt. It also contains legally questionable maneuvers,
costly borrowing and unrealistic savings. Finally, it is not
financeable and therefore will not allow us to meet our obligations
as they occur.
We can ? and must ? do better. A balanced budget is critical to our
economic recovery. I am, once again, calling on Republicans to allow
the people of California to vote on tax extensions for a balanced
budget and significant reforms.  They should also join Democrats in
supporting job creation and ending tax breaks for out-of-state
companies. If they continue to obstruct a vote, we will be forced to
pursue deeper and more destructive cuts to schools and public safety?
a tragedy for which Republicans will bear full responsibility.
Sincerely,

Edmund G. Brown Jr.