The Issue:  Many have become critics of the California Budget Process, and with good reason.  It is a difficult bill to pass, especially with a Republican governor and enough GOP legislatures in each house to block the bill.  Many have criticized the 2/3 majority required to pass the budget, claiming it is too high a threshold than is necessary.  Still, there is one major flaw that people seem to overlook, our legislature doesn’t begin reviewing the budget until May.

Here is a flowchart of the budget process prepared by the California Department of Finance.

There are three major deadlines for the California Budget:

1. January 10th the Governor releases his proposed budget for the next fiscal year.
2. May 1st the Governor informally releases his May Revise of the Budget (I say informally because it is not required by law, but has become common practice). 
3. July 1st is the “Due Date” of the budget.  This is the day government services stop receiving help if there isn’t a signed budget.

Here is the major flaw with this budget process.  The Legislature doesn’t seriously begin reviewing the budget until May when the Governor releases his revise.  The thought is that their effort is wasted if the governor will be revising the budget a few months down the road.  If the legislature was reviewing Schwarzenegger’s final draft of the budget in January, maybe February, we could expect to have a budget by July.

The Solution:  Governor Schwarzenegger should release his proposed budget January 10th with the understanding that there will be no May Revise.  This gives the Legislature five more months to pass a budget.