Wilson Says Budget Accord Is Possible by Next Week

Gov. Pete Wilson emerged from a meeting of legislative leaders Wednesday and said he is optimistic that a state budget accord can be reached soon, perhaps by the end of next week.

Wilson, back in the Capitol after a weekend presidential campaign trip to the East and Midwest, met for two hours behind closed doors with state Senate and Assembly leaders to begin resolving issues ranging from spending on public schools and welfare to prisons.

“I think there is not just a willingness, but an eagerness to stay here until we are able to get the job done,” the Republican governor said, flanked by Republican and Democratic leaders of the Legislature.

Wilson has proposed a $56-billion budget, which must pass muster by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature. The governor said a budget can be in place by the Legislature’s scheduled summer vacation at the end of next week.

Neither Wilson nor the legislators gave any indication about any specific areas of compromise. In fact, when asked where he was compromising, Wilson replied, “What a foolish question.”

The state constitutional deadline for approving a budget came and went Saturday, the first day of the 1995-96 fiscal year.

Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward), who is part of the leadership group, appeared less optimistic than Wilson that a budget could be in place quickly. When asked if a budget could be in place by the end of next week, Lockyer said, “Theoretically.”

“I never agree to dates, but we are working hard to get it done soon,” Lockyer said.

Democrats, led by Lockyer and Assembly Democratic Leader Willie Brown of San Francisco, are seeking more money for public schools and state universities, and generally are opposing Wilson’s proposals for deep welfare cuts and a 10% increase in prison spending.

“There is really no reason this [budget] couldn’t be done within the next few days,” Assembly Republican Leader Jim Brulte of Rancho Cucamonga said. But Brulte also said that if a budget agreement cannot be reached within the next week, the state could be in for a drawn-out budget fight.

Wilson and the lawmakers agreed to meet again today and to set up task forces of legislators to go back over the prison budget to look for areas to cut.

Senate Democrats have bottled up Wilson’s request to build six prisons at a cost of $2 billion to house the tens of thousands of new felons who will go to prison as a result of the “three strikes” sentencing law. A related plan to add 20,000 “emergency beds” to prisons at a cost of about $200 million does appear to be winning legislative support.

The impact of missing the constitutional deadline won’t be felt in any dramatic way unless a budget is not in place on July 15, when paychecks are to be sent to several thousand state workers.