Senate leader says Brown’s budget proposal falls short

Senate leader Darrell Steinberg strongly criticized Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal on Wednesday, signaling the potential for difficult spending negotiations in the weeks ahead.

The Sacramento Democrat questioned whether healthcare will cost as much as administration officials expect, and he said the governor had failed to appreciate the need for new spending on government services to alleviate lingering damage from the recession.

One sticking point in budget negotiations will be the $68-billion bullet train. Steinberg said it was difficult rounding up the necessary votes in the Senate two years ago to get the project started, and now Brown wants to tap polluter fees to help pay for construction.

“The high-speed rail thing is going to be a much tougher sell this time,” Steinberg said. “I hear it from my caucus all the time.”

Democratic lawmakers have different goals for the funding, including affordable housing and other mass transit systems in congested areas of the state.

“We have more than lifted to meet the governor’s agenda,” Steinberg said. “It’s time he does a little lifting to meet our priorities.”

Even though revenue has exceeded expectations, Brown has continuously tried to tamp down expectations for new spending. When unveiling his latest budget proposal on Tuesday, he said soaring enrollment in the state’s healthcare program for the poor -- a byproduct of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act -- is soaking up more money than expected.

While speaking on Wednesday at a board meeting of the University of California regents, Brown repeated the message that there won’t be enough money to go around.

“We have to live within limits,” he said.

But Steinberg said there would be more money available if Brown reduced his suggested deposit into the state’s reserve fund. The governor wants a $1.6 billion contribution, which is higher than would be required under a proposed constitutional amendment that the Legislature is expected to place on the ballot in November.

Universal preschool, which could cost $1 billion a year, remains a goal for Steinberg. He said Brown is wrong to ignore the benefits of expanding early childhood education.

“For a guy who prides himself as a real intellectual ... he dismisses the evidence,” Steinberg said.