The people of California have spoken. They don’t trust or believe Sacramento.

We understand.

Senate Republicans heard the message. Yesterday’s vote was not about the budget. It was about a more serious condition — the loss of faith in the institutions of state government.

And while the talk today in the Capitol is about what deals will be cut to get a new budget agreement in place, solving the latest budget crisis does nothing to cure the underlying disease.

We cannot restore California until we restore the people’s faith in our broken system and in their elected representatives. That’s why Senate Republicans today are proposing a far-reaching, fundamental series of reforms that will restore the bond of trust between Californians and their Government and fundamentally change the way the legislature and the state conducts business.

Our Roadmap to California’s Future is designed to stop back-room deals and late night voting on bills nobody has read. It will shake up the bureaucracy and hold government accountable; End automatic budget formulas, so policymakers can write budgets that demand performance and abolish programs that don’t perform and fail to deliver. These reforms will increase support for classrooms where teachers want to teach and students want to learn; and finally attract jobs and businesses to California.

These proposals Senate Republicans will work to enact over the next 18 months. We invite our colleagues in both parties, in both houses – and the governor – to join with us.

It’s time we set aside our differences, and finally do what’s right for California.