Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg will try to reverse Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's line-item budget vetoes when the next legislative session begins in December, according to his spokeswoman, Alicia Trost.
Schwarzenegger vetoed $962.5 million in spending when he signed the budget Friday. The governor targeted many of his line-item vetoes at programs for low-income Californians, including child care for the working poor. Schwarzenegger said his vetoes were necessary to ensure the state has a prudent reserve of more than $1.3 billion.
Democrats reacted with anger, as some lawmakers said they were misled into voting for a budget that they believed would protect social service programs.
Steinberg's strategy does not rely on overriding the line-item vetoes, which would take a two-thirds vote of the Legislature. Instead, it seems that Steinberg intends to ask Democrats to reauthorize spending for the programs slashed by the governor.
It's unclear to what extent Steinberg's plan relies upon passage of Proposition 25, which would reduce the state's budget requirement of a supermajority vote to a majority vote. Even without passage of Proposition 25, lawmakers could appropriate funds for education on a majority vote - including the $256 million in child care funds that Schwarzenegger vetoed.
Steinberg's strategy also seems to rely on having a new governor take office who would sign such appropriations. In other words, Democrats would need Jerry Brown to win in November and then send their legislation to Brown once he takes office in January.
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