Impasse Over State Budget

All this shilly-shallying on the part of our purely partisan state Legislature with regard to the budget is pure political hogwash! The only answer to this annual charade is to amend the state Constitution with a permanent law that states: “No member of the state Legislature (Senate or Assembly) shall be eligible for any salary after June 30 until the budget is adopted and signed by the governor.” This should apply to all members of the state government, including the governor and all elective officers. There is no reason why they--with their annual salaries--should continue to be paid while the rest of the state has nothing.

I’ll bet the budget would be in force by July 1 of each year, even in election years. The only reason California has no budget in force by now is the fact that Assembly Speaker Willie Brown and his Democrat cronies refuse to let a Republican governor put in place a budget that might work. The whole team--from top to bottom--should be repudiated, thrown out and replaced.

GEORGE F. GORHAM

Orange