Governor Calls Special Session of Legislature

Gov. George Deukmejian today ordered the California Legislature to convene a special session next week to enact a $1-billion cut in state spending to balance his $55-billion state budget.

The lame-duck governor, whose term ends Jan. 7, said his successor, Gov.-elect Pete Wilson, urged him to call the special session.

The special session will coincide with the regularly scheduled first organizing session Monday of the 1991-92 Legislature. The special session would allow quicker action by the Legislature under different parliamentary rules.

The chances of significant action in the special session were immediately in doubt, since the Democratic leader of the lower house, Assembly Speaker Willie Brown of San Francisco, had said in his weekly statewide radio address last Saturday that the budget crisis involved “issues best worked out with our new governor when he takes office in January.”

Deukmejian acknowledged that although he can order a special session, he can’t compel the Legislature to take action or even stay in town to consider his proposals.

Deukmejian told a Capitol news conference today that California can’t afford to wait until January and has no reason to delay.

“I am a full-time governor. We have a full-time Legislature. The people did not send us here to delay. They sent us here to solve problems,” Deukmejian said.