California Democrats push divergent budget plans

SACRAMENTO -- For much of the year, the debate surrounding the budget has pitted Gov. Jerry Brown against Democrats in the Legislature.

But starting this week, there will be a different set of divisions in the Capitol.

The Assembly and the Senate are pushing different budget plans that will need to be reconciled in a series of joint hearings scheduled to begin Friday.

Although the differences involve a relatively small part of the budget, they represented divergent views on how California should begin reinvesting in government programs now that deficits have faded.

The Times outlined some of the contrasts in Wednesday’s newspaper.

One key question is how the state fulfills its obligation to education under the school funding law.

The Senate wants to move faster to repay money owed to schools after years of budget cuts, chipping away at what Brown calls the “wall of debt.”

The Assembly, on the other hand, would rather use extra money to directly increase state spending on the classroom.

Both plans are contingent on more optimistic tax revenue projections from the nonpartisan legislative analyst, who says the state will receive $3.2 billion more than Brown has estimated.

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Twitter: @chrismegerian