The Assembly Budget Committee takes a look at managing the state's rising debt burden today.
Over the years, voters have approved bonds to fund proposals ranging from road construction to stem cell research. Soon legislators are expected to ask voters to give the green light for another $11.1 billion in bonds to pay for water projects.
All those projects have added up to a hefty sum. Current general obligation bond debt comes in at $58.5 billion, with another $53.2 billion in approved general obligation bonds that are still unissued, according to an October report by the Legislative Analyst's Office.
Debt service payments represented about 7 percent of the general fund budget for the current fiscal year. The Legislative Analyst's Office has said the figure could rise to about 10 percent by the 2014-2015 fiscal year.
Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor and state Treasurer Bill Lockyer are scheduled to testify at the hearing, which starts at 2 p.m. in Room 4202.
Click here for Bee colleague Kevin Yamamura's recent story on the impact that bond debt has on the state's economic health.
Happening elsewhere today: The Assembly Select Committee on the Safety and Protection of At-Risk Communities in California meets in Los Angeles for an informational hearing on loan modification programs and new efforts to curb foreclosure rates.
Green thumbs up (and down): The California League of Conservation Voters released late last week its latest scorecard ranking lawmakers on their environmental records. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who's headed to the U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen this week to highlight California's environmental accomplishments, got the lowest score of his career -- 28 percent. Click here to see the full ranking.
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