Budget Woes To Highlight Gov. Brown's State Of The State Address
SACRAMENTO (KCBS) - Cutbacks and compromises will be the prevailing themes as Gov. Jerry Brown delivers his first State of the State address in 29 years Monday night.
KCBS' Doug Sovern Reports:
It's expected that Brown will urge voters to approve tax extensions or face dire though unspecified consequences.
"You add up what the taxes would be, take them away, and then see what's feasible and what's left and people can figure that out," Brown has reasoned.
Some lawmakers have called on Brown to offer more specifics.
Brown maintains his number-crunchers have in fact prepared alternatives in case the tax idea doesn't pass muster, though he would not initially share those alternatives with the voters.
"If I tell them this is going to happen, some people might say I'm putting a gun to their head so I'm not going to do that," Brown said.
The governor is proposing $12 billion in cuts, even if voters approve the tax extensions, warning that number would double if they don't.
"The areas that legally can be cut can be the university, tend to be the prisons, or tend to be the kindergarten through 12," he explained. "So that's certainly an area that the legislature will be forced to look at if they aren't able to adopt this budget or if the voters reject it."
Brown's address was scheduled to begin at 5:08 p.m. Monday. It would be broadcast live on KCBS Radio, 740AM and 106.9FM and webcast on cbssanfrancisco.com
KCBS reporter Doug Sovern plans to tweet from the Capitol during the speech.
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