Election Deadline Murky As Budget Talks Continue
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Now that California lawmakers have missed Gov. Jerry Brown's self-imposed budget deadline, it's unclear when they have to act to meet his demand for a special election in June to consider extending recent tax hikes.
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, a Democrat, said Thursday that lawmakers are planning to work through the weekend to try to secure Republican support to call the election.
Brown's office wants the election held June 7, to coincide with local elections in many California cities. But it's not clear when the Legislature has to pass the budget to make that happen.
State law requires the election to be set 131 days in advance -- a deadline that already has passed -- but the Legislature can write its own law allowing that to be waived.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
