California’s Republican-Free Zone Leads To Surplus

With a Democratic governor and legislature, California is back from bankruptcy.

For the first time in nearly a decade, California is collecting more revenue than it is spending and will finish the fiscal year with an extra $2.4 billion, according to a report released Wednesday by the Legislature’s nonpartisan budget analyst.

The good news comes after an era that saw one of the worst budget crises in California history – the fiscal shortfall sank to $60 billion in the 2009-10 budget, the state controller mailed IOUs to vendors in 2009 and state lawmakers slashed programs year after year to make ends meet.

Now, thanks to the passage of Proposition 30 last year and the improving economy, California is looking at surpluses for the next six years – even after the temporary taxes under Prop. 30 expire, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

The legislative analyst projected surpluses of $2.4 billion by June 2014 and $5.6 billion by June 2015. Reserves are projected to continue growing to nearly $10 billion by June 2018.

By: MR. RIGHT