Southern California lawmaker wants state budget crisis talks public
After Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger failed to get voter approval of a budget, Senate Minority Leader Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Murrieta, wants to make public all legislative deliberations on eliminating the $24 million budget shortfall . -DB
The Press-Enterprise
June 7, 2009
By Jim Miller
SACRAMENTO – California lawmakers struggling to close a $24 billion budget shortfall may have to go without the approach that has produced many major Capitol deals in recent years.
“Big Five” negotiations between the governor and the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Assembly and state Senate have increasingly been the key to bipartisan pacts on budgets and other significant legislation.
But a recent arrival to the Big Five has demanded changes to the process.
Senate Minority Leader Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Murrieta, wants all budget talks to take place in public or be aired in the Legislature’s budget-writing committee before going to floor votes. So far, his stance seems to have curbed the secrecy that marked months of budget negotiations leading up to a February budget vote.
“Look at all the problems when we’ve had with these midnight deals and early-morning votes,” said Hollingsworth. “We should have every decision be made through the normal constitutional processes.”
Unclear, though, is whether Hollingsworth’s demand will hinder efforts to address such an enormous budget gap in time to avert a fast-approaching cash shortage.
Private Big Five negotiations allow governors and legislative leaders to speak frankly. They also keep labor unions, anti-tax groups and dozens of other Capitol special interests in the dark until it is too late to block any votes.
Airing every proposed cut, revenue increase, or other change in public could subject lawmakers to a nonstop barrage of office visits, phone calls to constituents and other pressure to oppose various proposals.
“The Big Five is not a perfect process,” said Dan Schnur, director of USC’s Unruh Institute of Politics and a former adviser to former Gov. Pete Wilson. “But it’s a lot better than hanging 120 legislators out to dry while they get beat up by the interest groups.”
Hollingsworth said the Big Five’s importance has been exaggerated. “There’s no reason that things can’t be voted on in committee after the leadership has discussed it,” he said.
Two-thirds vote
California is one of only three states that require a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to pass budgets and raise taxes. That means majority Democrats need to get the votes of at least a handful of Republican lawmakers and GOP leaders get a seat at the bargaining table.
Budget legislation used to be crafted in budget conference committees or between the powerful leaders of Assembly and Senate fiscal panels.
Negotiations between the Big Five emerged early in Wilson’s tenure as a way to settle final sticking points over how to address a steep drop in revenue.
Big Five meetings became increasingly common. In public, Democrat-controlled budget-conference committees would pass spending bills on party-line votes. The serious talks took place in private Big Five meetings.
The Big Five’s role peaked early this year. After months of secret talks, Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders essentially wrote a $92 billion 2009-10 budget—with $42 billion in spending cuts, temporary tax increases and borrowing.
Surprise spurs anger
Lawmakers and others had little time to review the package before late-night votes. Hollingsworth and several other GOP senators were angry to learn of the proposed tax increases and ousted GOP Senate leader Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto.
The package assumed voters would approve five budget-related ballot measures in the May 19 special election. Voters rejected all of them, with opponents successfully attacking them as the products of a backroom deal.
“Certainly the process at the beginning of this year was as opaque as I’ve ever seen it,” said Tim Hodson, director of the Center for Governmental Studies at Cal State Sacramento.
Big Five meetings are only one example of the Capitol’s closed-door culture. Governor’s offices produce major budget proposals in private. Legislative caucuses hold closed meetings to discuss strategy on issues affecting millions of Californians.
Big Five talks could diminish in importance this summer. Spending cuts, which do not require any GOP votes, are expected to provide the bulk of the shortfall solution. And Democrats could try to push through revenue-raising legislation on majority votes.
There also is the risk that Hollingsworth’s position will simply turn the Big Five into the Big Four, with the Senate GOP on the sidelines of any deals.
There have been two uneventful Big Five meetings since the special election. For the first time, the Senate GOP and the governor’s office released summaries of this week’s session. There are no plans for future meetings.
“It remains to be seen how big a part of this process the Big Five meetings are going to be,” Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said. “It’s not just the governor’s meeting or Sen. Hollingsworth’s meeting; whatever they do in Big Five needs to be agreed upon by everyone.”
The Budget Conference Committee has spent hours in public hearings the past two weeks considering billions in spending cuts proposed by Schwarzenegger. The panel already has voted for some reductions.
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said he has no problem with Hollingsworth’s demands. But private talks could still be crucial to any final deal, he said.
“I still think you need some ability to negotiate, no question about it. There’s always going to be need for discussions between and among leaders,” said Steinberg, D-Sacramento.
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