Deukmejian Vows to Put Budget on Balanced Diet

Gov. George Deukmejian complained Tuesday that his proposed state budget for next year has gained “considerable weight” in the Legislature and promised to put the spending plan on a diet when it reaches his desk.

At a Los Angeles press conference, Deukmejian criticized a Senate committee controlled by Democrats for approving a $900-million increase in his proposed 1985-86 budget and said he would use his veto power to limit state spending.

“I’m going to have a balanced budget,” the governor said. “We’re going to live within our means, and if I have to veto budget items or other appropriations bills in order to do that, yes, I’ll follow the same practice I have the first two years.”

The governor has proposed a $33.7-billion budget for the 1985-86 fiscal year. The Legislature has until June 15 to revise the governor’s spending plan and send him its own proposal.

Fiscal Issues

On a day devoted largely to fiscal issues, Deukmejian later told a luncheon gathering of contributors to private Claremont McKenna College that community college fees would not be eliminated while he is governor.

“Not during my administration,” he said. “I really think that it is beneficial for individuals who are attending community colleges to help defray the cost if they are in a position to do so.”

It is incorrect, he said, to blame declining community college enrollment on the $50-per-semester fee imposed last year. A $15-million student aid fund set up at the time has gone begging as needy students have applied for only a third of the money, he said.

On an unrelated money matter, Deukmejian said he is considering a request from the bankruptcy trustee for fireworks manufacturer W. Patrick Moriarty to return $17,000 in campaign contributions allegedly funneled illegally through associates of Moriarty.

“I’m seeking some legal advice as to whether or not legally there is any requirement on our part to return those funds, and until I get that advice I will not make a final decision,” he said. “We have never been informed by anyone that the money that we received came from any source other than the individuals who donated it to us.”

‘I’m Concerned’

In defending his handling of the state’s fiscal affairs, Deukmejian said he has been forced to use his veto power 976 times to reject $2.3 billion in spending proposed by the Legislature. During his tenure as governor, he said, lawmakers have continually proposed expenditures the state cannot afford.

“We saw this happening in each of the last two years and unfortunately it is beginning to happen again this year,” he said. “I’m concerned that the budget I sent to the Legislature in January is beginning to put on considerable weight.

“Our main central objection is the fact that, generally speaking, they have just simply augmented what we have proposed as increases,” he said.

Deukmejian also reiterated his opposition to a tax reduction during the next year, saying he would prefer to spend increased state revenues to pay back debts to school districts and local government. But he said he would “certainly consider” any tax rebate plan sent to him by the Legislature.