Republicans take a skeptical view

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger described his agenda this week as a litany of things all Californians want: affordable health insurance, clean air, snarl-free highways. But he may have to battle his fellow Republicans to get them.

Outlining that vision in his State of the State speech Tuesday before a joint session of the Legislature, Schwarzenegger was interrupted 21 times by applause, nearly all of it from Democrats.

They clapped when he talked about making California a leader in clean technology. They clapped when he promised to promote alternative fuels, when he complained about the federal response to global warming and when he vowed action on healthcare.

Republicans were noticeably less enthusiastic, and afterward expressed deep concern about the huge amount of money the governor wants to borrow, and his willingness to levy businesses, to achieve his goals.

They are a minority party in the Legislature, but Republicans will be needed to pass the budget, put bond measures on the ballot and impose any new taxes. So they must now figure out how to shape, or block, the agenda of a very popular governor from their own party who is championing proposals that are anathema to conservatives.

“We’d like to see real bipartisan work,” said Mike Villines of Clovis, leader of the Assembly’s Republicans. “When you can get strong numbers from both caucuses to agree on something, that’s what Californians want.”

When he was sworn in to his second term Friday, Schwarzenegger proclaimed himself a centrist.

On Wednesday, he garnered praise from fellow party members after proposing a state budget that would eliminate a multibillion-dollar deficit. Republican lawmakers also hailed his willingness to build dams and prisons, fund vocational education and pare the welfare rolls.

But Schwarzenegger has unleashed an ambitious agenda that also would force businesses to pay for worker health benefits and would borrow $43 billion -- on top of the $42 billion in bonds that voters approved in November -- to pay for schools, dams, courthouses and prisons.

Critical components would require not just the votes of Democrats but also those of at least eight Republicans.

Sen. Dave Cox (R-Fair Oaks) said he has heard already from people in his district east of Sacramento complaining about the governor’s wish to give healthcare to children who are in California illegally.

“Providing services for illegal immigrants is not centrist in any part of California,” he said.

The leader of the Senate’s Republicans, Dick Ackerman of Irvine, called the governor’s plan to assess a percentage of doctor and hospital earnings a “tax” even though administration officials call the assessments a fee. The distinction is critical, because fees can be passed without Republican votes, but new taxes require a two-thirds majority vote.

Ackerman predicted that that aspect of Schwarzenegger’s plan would not pass the Legislature. “It’s not good policy,” Ackerman said.

Other Republicans praised the governor’s commitment to building dams but expressed dismay at his proposal to do it with borrowed money. Last year, Republican resistance helped force Schwarzenegger to scale back his plans for a $68-billion bond package.

“I’m extremely reluctant to entertain the idea of more bonding,” said Assemblyman Chuck Devore (R-Irvine). “I’m very concerned that we’ll get into a situation where future governors and legislatures will have an untenable debt and repayment burden.”

Republican lawmakers say they don’t want a repeat of last year, when Schwarzenegger teamed with Democrats to raise the minimum wage, lower prescription drug costs and regulate industrial emissions of gases linked to global warming.

The governor and Democratic legislative leaders heralded those new laws as a historic demonstration of bipartisanship.

“The really frustrating thing to us was that we didn’t think we were truly part of the real discussions,” Assemblyman Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks) said. “The governor is obviously his own person, and we respect that. We have things that he believes in that we agree with, and things he believes in that we disagree with. And that isn’t as important so much as that we are a part of the serious discussion.”

As he unveiled his $143-billion spending plan Wednesday, Schwarzenegger promised Republicans a role.

“Even if it sometimes has something to do with just a simple majority,” the governor said, “they will always be at the table. Because it is very important that everyone is being heard.”

Republicans say they are determined to maximize their leverage this year by staying united and not allowing bills to pass with two-thirds majority votes until GOP concerns are satisfied.

“Any minority party has to make sure they stick together and have some cohesive principles,” Villines said. “Those are easy for us. We don’t want the deficit, and we don’t want to raise taxes.”

Two months ago, Assembly Republicans ousted leader George Plescia of San Diego, who was seen as a pushover, in favor of the assertive Villines. And in the Senate, Ackerman was chastised for not taking a tougher stance with the governor.

Republicans cannot capitulate on the tax issue, said political consultant Chris Wysocki. He said they’ll need to do the hard slogging of crafting detailed, alternative proposals and selling them to the public with newspaper editorials and speeches to local business groups.

“It’s incumbent upon the Republican legislators to realize they’re dealing with a governor that is very powerful with the people, very charismatic,” said Wysocki, a Republican himself.

“He’s able to dominate the media,” Wysocki added. “That just makes their job tougher.... They need to get down to the business of changing hearts and minds one at a time.

“If you come at it where you’re just saying no, no, no without providing some alternative,” he said, “you’ll be marginalized -- and I think that’s the risk the Republicans have to deal with.”

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nancy.vogel@latimes.com

Times staff writer Peter Nicholas contributed to this report.