Both Sides on Budget Wait for the Other to Blink : Capitol: As deadlock continues and resolution remains elusive, some legislators visit Lake Tahoe. Today, many will be at UC Board of Regents meeting.

On Day 20 of the state budget impasse, Gov. Pete Wilson was talking affirmative action, a contingent of Republican legislators returned from an evening jaunt to Lake Tahoe and Democrats were holding out for a better deal.

Wilson and every legislator in Sacramento insists that it is urgent that they agree on a spending plan. The constitutional deadline for approving a budget came and went July 1, leaving California without spending authority.

But Wednesday, the budget seemed not very urgent, and an agreement did not seem particularly close. The Assembly is not going to be in session today because many legislators will be in San Francisco for the high-profile gathering of the UC Board of Regents to debate affirmative action.

There was no time Wednesday for high-level budget negotiations among Wilson and a contingent of five legislative leaders working to resolve the gridlock. Nor was there a so-called Big Six meeting on Tuesday. There may be one late today, but that’s tentative, given that half of the Big Six will be at the regents meeting.

After being interviewed on CNN about affirmative action Wednesday morning, and talking to reporters about his desire to abolish the program at the UC system, Wilson paused to answer a question about how close a budget resolution is: “Not close enough.”

“The gap that we have to close is far, far greater than little nicks here and there,” Wilson said, adding that Democrats must agree to “deeper cuts than they have been willing to make on the public assistance side.”

The fact is, the political game now is one of waiting for one side to blink first.

“We’re waiting to get some signal from the [Democrats] that they’re serious about cutting welfare, so we can put this budget to bed,” Assembly GOP Leader Jim Brulte said on returning at midday Wednesday from an overnight trip to Lake Tahoe, 90 miles away.

Brulte was one of eight Republican legislators who headed over to the lake Tuesday afternoon and evening. The legislators were touchy about being asked about the trip, worried that it might appear as if they weren’t attending to the public’s business, when in fact they spend long hours at the Capitol.

“I met with the education coalition [about the school funding], I met with a number of people in administration and budget staff,” Brulte said. “When I was finished and had no other scheduled appointments, I took a short road trip,” he said.

All said they left only after their duties were done Tuesday. Some returned that evening. Four rolled in early Wednesday. Two spent the night, but all were in the Capitol for meetings Wednesday.

“We waited until the day was over because we didn’t want a reporter to call us and say, ‘Gee you went to Tahoe and there’s no budget,’ ” said freshman Assemblyman Jim Battin of Palm Desert.

Assemblyman Phil Hawkins of Bellflower, who drove over with Battin and two others, said he called Brulte’s room at Caesars Tahoe when he arrived. Brulte told him he was watching an Indiana Jones movie and doing paperwork, and asked him to stop by. Hawkins and the others declined, deciding instead to dine at Heavenly Valley and hit the casinos.

Even though they went on their own time and were back at work Wednesday, the trip raised some Republicans’ eyebrows, while Democrats were amused.

“It sends a bad message,” Assemblyman Larry Bowler (R-Elk Grove) said.

“Sounds kind of non-urgent to me,” said Assemblyman Peter Frusetta (R-Tres Pinos), who, like most Assembly Republicans, was invited on the trip.

At this point, rank-and-file legislators have little say over the direction of the budget negotiations.

“The ball is with the Big Six,” said Diane Martinez (D-Monterey Park), who went to Tahoe after the Assembly session Saturday with four Democrats and her daughter. “All the way there and back, we talked about the budget and restructuring of the California Public Utilities Commission.”

On Wednesday, Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward) talked to Wilson’s aides about a few ideas he has for getting out of the deadlock, including tying any welfare cuts to an increase in the minimum wage--probably not something that Republicans will endorse.

As for the other leaders, Assembly Democratic Leader Willie Brown, who spends much of his time in San Francisco running for mayor, was in town Wednesday, but was focused primarily on today’s UC regents meeting, which he will attend.

Assembly Speaker Doris Allen, who is a regent, also was preparing for the meeting and could not be reached. Senate GOP Leader Ken Maddy was in the Capitol, but could not be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, vendors who delivered goods after July 1 to California facilities are not being paid. Nursing homes are not receiving reimbursement for housing elderly Medi-Cal patients. Some legislative staffers, who missed their first paychecks Friday, are turning to credit unions for loans.

Legislators are also not getting paid, although as with the vendors and others, their checks will be sent once there is a budget.

Lockyer, who was not invited on the Tahoe trip, did not fault the Republicans for going: “Occasionally, people need to decompress.” Perhaps, he added, negotiations will improve “if there’s less crankiness at the table.”