Poll Finds Support For Gov. Brown But Not Trigger Cuts
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A Field Poll released Tuesday finds support for Gov. Jerry Brown holding steady in California, with nearly half the respondents saying they approve of his job performance and a third disapproving.
That is close to the same level of support the Democratic governor has seen in two other Field surveys taken since he took office in January.
But Californians are not pleased with a key provision of the state budget the Democratic governor signed this summer, which would trigger automatic cuts to schools, higher education and health care if anticipated tax revenues don't materialize. Two-thirds told pollsters they disapprove of the so-called trigger cuts while 24 percent approve of them.
Brown vetoed a bill last week that would have sent the decision about further cuts back to the state Legislature. He said it would undermine investor confidence in California after the state won higher credit ratings because of its "no gimmick, on-time budget."
"Why would we undermine the plan that has earned widespread respect and helped stabilize California's finances?" he wrote in a veto message.
In assessing the budget, voters were split between those who believe this year's cuts went too far, were about right or did not go far enough. Most of the state's $26.6 billion deficit was addressed with spending cuts.
Californians repeatedly have opposed cuts to state spending but also have been unwilling to raise taxes or fees to pay for programs.
In the poll released Tuesday, just 1 in 5 voters approved of the Legislature's job performance while 65 percent disapproved. Respondents gave poor marks to lawmakers of both parties, but the level of disapproval was higher for Republican lawmakers, with 64 percent disapproving of their performance; 55 percent disapproved of the job Democrats were doing.
In a sliver of good news, Californians are feeling slightly better about the state's future: Two-thirds of voters said they think it is seriously off-track, down from a record 81 percent who believed it was off track last September.
The poll surveyed 1,001 registered voters by telephone from Sept. 1-12 and has an overall sampling error margin of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points. It is higher for subgroups of voters.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
