Governor Dips Into Surplus to Finance Spending Bills

Gov. George Deukmejian said Saturday that he has reduced the state budget surplus by nearly $200 million to pay for unexpected firefighting and prison costs, as well as for a variety of new spending programs.

Deukmejian, who three months ago insisted on maintaining a surplus of at least $1.054 billion, said the reserve has dropped to $867 million because of legislation he approved that calls for increased spending.

In the last three weeks, Deukmejian noted, he signed 1,155 bills, while vetoing 221 others.

“Even after my vetoes, we are still spending more--a lot more--for education, public safety, transportation, toxic cleanup and job opportunities,” Deukmejian said in his weekly radio address.

During his first two years in office, Deukmejian gained a reputation as a tight-fisted guardian of the state Treasury. At the same time, however, he could point to few major legislative accomplishments.

Now, as Deukmejian heads into the 1986 election year, Democrats say the governor has grown more generous toward spending programs suggested by the Legislature.

“After three years, it was clear he was a little more willing to talk,” said Fred Silva, fiscal adviser to Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles). “This year, the Administration was far more interested in communication and cooperation than in the past.”

In his radio address Saturday, Deukmejian cited a number of gains from the recently concluded 1985 legislative session, including passage of a landmark workfare program and laws to spend $78 million on an emergency prison expansion plan, $100 million for the cleanup of toxic wastes and $20 million to improve care of the mentally ill.

Deukmejian also took credit for increasing funds for two politically sensitive health programs: AIDS research and the establishment of cancer registries statewide. He did not mention that he had vetoed previous legislative proposals to increase spending for both programs.

One bill signed by Deukmejian will add $5 million to state research into acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Earlier this year, Deukmejian had deleted $11.6 million in AIDS spending.

Another bill the governor signed will set up in each county a cancer registry that by 1988 will monitor the incidence of cancer and birth defects. Twice before, Deukmejian has vetoed money to establish such a program statewide, choosing instead to try it in a few counties.

sh ‘Great Productivity’

“The 1985 legislative session was a period of great bipartisan productivity in Sacramento,” Deukmejian told his radio audience. “This Legislature and this governor will always have their differences, but we can work together for the good of all Californians.”

This is the first time Deukmejian has allowed the state surplus to drop significantly below the level he deemed necessary to guard against “emergencies and unanticipated expenses.”

In June, Silva said, as part of signing a $34.8-billion state budget, the governor set aside about $289 million beyond the budgeted $1.054-billion surplus to pay for legislation that would be enacted later.

But ultimately, Deukmejian approved a total of $475 million in new spending, which meant dipping into the reserve for $187 million.

“He used to draw this line in the dirt and now the wind has blown it away,” Silva said. “All in all, I think it was a good year for both the Legislature’s priorities and the Administration’s priorities.”