Robbing From The Voters

Last night on Warren Olney's Which Way LA?, which everyone should be podcasting, Dan Walters from the Sacramento Bee made a very interesting point about the budget that has been somewhat unremarked-upon to this point. I'm not generally a fan of Walters, but it's hard to argue with this.

The budget that passed the Assembly took $1.2 billion designed to go to transit and put it back into the general fund, with the reason given that the infrastructure bonds are financing transit improvements so there would be some duplication there. That's not what voters approved in November at all. Not even close. The infrastructure bonds on transportation were meant to be additional funds that the state could use to start new projects. It was in no way meant to stand in for the regular finances received from the state regarding transportation.

So we now have a situation where bonds have been floated to finance existing projects and maintenance. Is this a preview of things to come, a get-out-of-the-deficit-free card by using Arthur Andersen-style creative accounting tactics? Voters approved those bonds because they wanted to see new mass transit options and new carpool lanes. They did not approve an addendum to the state budget to solve the fiscal mess.

(We of course see this also in the cut to Prop. 36 funding for drug treatment in prisons, also approved by voters, which I guess doesn't matter. It's a good thing nobody covers this state in the media, or there would be some howling going on)