Governor Will Work on Budget Through Holiday

Gov. George Deukmejian said Thursday he will work through the July 4 weekend on the proposed $41.1-billion state budget and hopes to sign it early next week.

The state has been without the legal authority to pay its bills since the start of the new fiscal year Wednesday, the day the Assembly gave final approval to the budget and sent it to the governor.

Deukmejian canceled a scheduled trip to Snowbird, Utah, to attend a meeting of the Western Governors Assn., in order to work on the budget, the governor’s office announced.

The governor has indicated he will cut at least $500 million, and perhaps substantially more, from the budget sent to him by the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

State Controller Gray Davis said he will not be able to send out checks until the governor signs the budget.

So far, the only delays have been checks to workers employed by the state to provide supportive health services to sick or invalid patients and $26 million earmarked for payment to county welfare workers.

A spokesman for Davis said $112 million is due to be paid July 9 to doctors, hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies working under contract to the Medi-Cal program. But the governor’s office said the budget should be signed before then.