Huff Criticizes Democrats for Unilateral Budget Plan

Republican State Senator Bob Huff, who represents Sierra Madre and serves as the Vice-Chair of the Senate Budget Committee, took issue late Wednesday afternoon with the budget plan passed by Democratic lawmakers.

Using what the Los Angeles Times called a “package of taxes, cuts and squishy accounting,” Democrats voted along party lines to pass the budget with a simple majority, rather than the two-thirds vote required before voters relieved them of that necessity last fall.

In that same article in the Times, Republican Tim Donnelly, who represents Sierra Madre in the State Assembly, blasted the plan by calling it “the legislative paycheck protection plan.” With that quote, Donnelly is referring to a new provision that prevents state lawmakers from collecting a paycheck if they fail to pass a budget on time.

Here, in its entirety, is Senator Huff’s statement:

“What we have before us today is a Democrat budget that reflects a Democrat vision. This is a vision for California that Republicans do not share.

“Senate Republicans believe that we need to reform the way we do business in California so that we do not end up with chronic budget deficits. Republicans offered Democrats a clear pathway to putting tax extensions on the ballot: a cap in spending, reforming California’s burdensome regulatory climate and pension reforms. Californians want reform. Californians want jobs.

“But this isn’t what we have before us today. It’s now very clear that Democrats didn’t want to go down this path to reform. They wanted to scare us instead with threats of an all cuts budget. They wanted to scare us with a ‘doom and gloom’ scenario of what would happen with an all cuts budget.

“But that’s not what we have before us today. What we have instead, is a Democrat budget crafted without any Republican input or support. Republicans respect the will of the people. But this budget doesn’t reflect Republican principles. We want job creation, and there’s none of that in this plan. We want to see reform in government, but there’s none of that in this plan.

“What we do see is cutting law enforcement and defying the will of California voters with a majority vote tax increase. I urge a no vote.”