Calif. lawmakers take up budget vote on $15.7B gap

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) ? California lawmakers are taking up their plan to balance a $15.7 billion deficit without Gov. Jerry Brown's endorsement.

Lawmakers in the state Senate began debate Friday on a plan that includes fewer welfare cuts than the governor proposed. The Assembly is also expected to take up the bill.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mark Leno introduced the Democratic spending plan. The San Francisco senator called it "a budget which is painful yet hopeful, sobering yet with vision."

Democrats are resisting deeper cuts to the state's welfare-to-work program known as CalWORKS and other social programs for the poor.

Republicans say the plan is incomplete and are urging Brown to veto the budget bill.

Lawmakers are running up against a midnight deadline to pass a balanced budget or they risk losing their pay.

Associated Press

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