Skelton: Jerry Brown has upper hand
Gov. Jerry Brown has promised to keep a tight lid on state spending, but Democrats in the Legislature now have enough votes to override any of his vetos.
George Skelton says in his Thursday column that Brown still has the upper hand.
“In short, because the state’s fiscal health is being restored — in no small part because of Brown — he is in a much stronger position to deal with the Legislature,” Skelton writes. “Essentially, the governor now needs the Legislature much less than it needs him.”
This is how Brown explained the difference on Tuesday, when he released his updated budget proposal.
In the past, he said, he would ask lawmakers, “Can you make the cuts? Can you vote [for] a tax?” Now, he said, lawmakers are asking, “Can you sign the bill?”
“Big difference,” Brown concluded.
Browse the Skelton column archive.
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