What a Beast of a Budget! : But Legislature does its job; now for the pain

There’s only one unequivocally good piece of news in this story: The state does have a budget. It was reached, as is always the case in politics, through compromise. And the compromising--by both the Legislature and the people of California--is really only beginning.

Gov. Pete Wilson, who in the essential elements got the budget he asked for, is expected to sign the $52-billion package if the Legislature approves a series of “trailer” bills, making changes in laws required to put the budget into effect. The bills include a statewide sales tax and a huge transfer, $2.6 billion, in local property taxes to schools.

The sales tax, which would merely make permanent the half-cent levy that consumers already are paying, would require state voter approval in November. That is better than the original Wilson proposal, which would have placed the tax on the ballot on a county-by-county basis--undesirable because it would have put a county willing to tax itself at a competitive disadvantage with a neighboring county unwilling to do so.

The taking from local governments, on the other hand, has nothing to commend it except that it enabled the budget deal to move forward. While the reallocation would enable the state to fund schools at about the same level as last year (a considerable achievement), it would do so at the expense of local government (a considerable hitch).

There seems no avoiding some serious consequences. Harry L. Hufford, chief administrative officer for Los Angeles County, said the transfer would mean large cutbacks in county services, and city officials warned that new city taxes might be required to make up the multimillion-dollar difference.

All this having been said, the Legislature did its job by agreeing on a budget before the July 1 deadline. But, as the governor put it, this is a budget plan to make everyone unhappy. Legislators are not happy to be presiding over a decline in what the Golden State can offer its residents. Legislators were reduced to fighting over who gets hurt more: the poor, the disabled, college students, renters, local governments that provide public hospitals, libraries, parks. All will suffer, some a little, some a lot. More fights can be expected as the Legislature makes final deals on the various “trailer” bills.

In the days and weeks to come, state and local officials will have to make crucial and difficult decisions about how exactly to spread around the pain. This page will have more to say as the menu of Hobson’s choices becomes more evident. Certainly it’s a very good thing that the state this year will not have to resort to IOUs to operate--but this budget surely isn’t putting anyone in the mood to pop champagne corks.