Brown: Unions Should Be Open To GOP Concessions

 A group of GOP lawmakers wants pension reforms, looser business regulations and a state spending cap in exchange for their votes to call a special election. Brown wants to ask Californians to extend temporary increases enacted two years ago on the personal income, sales and vehicles taxes for another five years. The tax hikes are scheduled to expire this year.

 Republican lawmakers who have been negotiating with Brown say he has not considered their suggestions seriously because he is unwilling to confront public employee unions, which contribute heavily to Democratic candidates. Brown points the finger at Republicans, saying they are holding up budget negotiations with unrealistic expectations.

 Nevertheless, he said Thursday that he remains open to their demands and has warned unions about the possible consequences of resisting change.

 "I tell my union friends, you're going to have to make some changes now, or much more drastic changes later," Brown said.

The governor spoke with reporters before meeting with the board of the California State Association of Counties, which voted overwhelmingly later Thursday to back Brown's budget plan.

Also Thursday, the governor signed bills that cut $8.2 billion from the state's $26.6 billion budget deficit. Combined with a series of transfers, Brown's office said the bills cut the deficit by $14 billion.

 Steve Maviglio, a spokesman for a group representing about 1.5 million public employees, said unions have made millions of dollars worth of concessions in the last year and are open to other reasonable changes, such as preventing the final-year spikes in pay that lead to inflated pensions.

 "The notion that unions already haven't given at the office is false, and we're more than happy to discuss additional changes that make sense and are lawful," he said.

 Brown needs at least two Republican votes in each house of the state Legislature to get a special election on the ballot, but time is running out to have an election in June, as he had hoped.

The governor hinted Thursday that he is considering alternatives, such as collecting signatures for a November ballot initiative, if he isn't able to get his special election approved in the Legislature soon. But Republicans also have warned they might collect signatures for initiatives that seek a spending cap and pension reform.

Maviglio said voters rejected two proposals in 2005 to limit unions' influence.

 "Californians have a long history of rejecting ballot initiatives that are against the interests of working families," he said.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)