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Late-Night Leadership Change in Senate while Senators are in Budget "Lockdown"
2/3rds Vote In Senate Still Elusive - Budget Talks Continue
A major shake-up in the Senate Republican Caucus last night raises concerns today as to whether a Budget compromise can be reached in the next 24 hours, or if it will force Budget negotiations to be completely re-opened.
As you have been reading in the papers, the California State Assembly has indicated that they have the necessary two-thirds vote (51 Democrats and 3 Republicans) to pass the Budget, the tax measure, and corresponding Budget "trailer bills." However, in the State Senate, while all of the Democrats have pledged to vote for the Budget package, the leadership has been unable to obtain a third Republican vote in order to achieve the two-thirds threshold for passage (2 Republicans had committed their vote thus far - Senators Cogdill and Ashburn). Ironically, were it not for the vacant Democrat seat of former Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas, who was just elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the third Republican vote would not be needed (i.e. 25 Democrats and only 2 Republicans would be needed to achieve the 27 votes in the Senate).
Talks broke down in the Senate over the President's Day weekend, and again yesterday, leading to frustration and concern over whether or not a deal can ultimately be achieved. The Senate is currently in session in "lock down," which means they are prohibited from leaving the Capitol until instructed otherwise. Many Senators spent the night on couches, cots, and in sleeping bags. The focus of the negotiations is on Republican Senator Dave Cox of Sacramento and Republican Senator Abel Maldonado of Santa Maria, who are being seen as the most likely candidates for the necessary vote. Senate Republicans are frustrated by the fact that the Budget deal was negotiated over many weeks, in private, between Democratic leaders, Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, Senate Republican Leader Cogdill and Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines, and the Governor. However, it should be noted that regardless of the Budget process, all but one Republican has signed a pledge, sponsored by an anti-tax group, indicating that they will oppose efforts to raise taxes. Most members, thus, refuse to budge from that position, making negotiations very difficult, as the Budget deal proposes to raise $14.3 billion in taxes, and would make $15.8 billion in cuts.
Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill had presented the Budget package to his caucus last week and explained to the media, "I felt it was as good as I could get and I was willing to release my members." Despite the fact that the Budget proposal contains deep cuts, a proposal for a spending cap, and some relief for California businesses, his caucus continued to express its displeasure with the package. Over the President's Day weekend, pressure mounted from the conservatives in the caucus, and Senator Cogdill even offered to step down as leader, but was ultimately asked to remain in his position. However, in a surprise move, shortly before midnight last night, Senate Republicans held a caucus meeting, ultimately deciding to force Senate Republican Dave Cogdill to step down as leader, and replacing him with conservative Senator Dennis Hollingsworth from Murrieta, California. Several of the members of the caucus, rumored to be the critical "swing vote members," refused to vote for Cogdill's ouster. Senator Maldonado stated, "I just can't believe in the middle of the night we would oust our leader...It's the wrong time to make a change in the process." The announcement was made shortly thereafter on the Senate Floor that the Republicans had elected a new leader, and Senator Cogdill received a nice round of applause for his hard work to date. He later told a Sacramento television station, KCRA, "I did the best job I could. I felt sincerely when we took the budget to the floor, the votes were there. Obviously, that wasn't the case. But that wasn't my belief when the budget went to the floor." He added, "Inaction is not an option. The consequences of an extended Budget impasse will be catastrophic, hurting real Californians and bringing irreversible damage to our state's finances and the economy." Assembly Republican Mike Villines released a statement upon hearing that his colleague had been removed as leader, "I want to offer my sincere admiration and deepest appreciation to my friend and colleague, Dave Codgill for his principled leadership on behalf of our party as Senate Republican Leader. A true statesman in every sense of the word, Dave put what he thought was best for California ahead of his own personal interests."
At approximately 12:30 a.m. this morning, Senator Steinberg put the tax bill (SB 3XXX - Third Extraordinary Session) up for a vote on the Floor, where it did not have the necessary two-thirds vote for passage, and the measure was ultimately placed "on call" until this morning. Around 10:30 a.m. today, the Senate lifted the call on the bill yet again, only to find that it still lacked the necessary votes. At 1 p.m. Senator Steinberg vowed to bring the bill up hourly in order to "inform the public of the financial impact of not reaching an agreement." Many in the Capitol are concerned now that, with the new Senate Republican leadership change, there is a possibility that the negotiations could grind to a halt. Said Senator Hollingsworth this morning to KCRA, "I think the majority of my caucus doesn't want to see a tax increase passed in the package. We'll see what happens in the next few hours, next few days." Meanwhile, Senate President pro Tem Steinberg continues his work to shore up a third Republican vote. Both he and Assembly Speaker Bass have stated they will not welcome the idea of reopening talks to further delay the Budget. Over in the Assembly, they announced this morning that they will remain "on call of the Chair." The Assembly must wait until the Senate takes action on their Budget package, before they will close out the business in their house.
Note: We have reviewed the Budget bills (SB 1XXX and AB 1XXX - 3rd Extraordinary Session) and have determined that there are no proposed cuts contained in either bill to library programs, such as the Public Library Foundation, Transaction Based Reimbursement or the adult literacy program.
Submitted by Mike Dillon and Christina DiCaro, CLA Lobbyists
Posted on February 18, 2009 2:14 PM | Permalink