[BATN] Governor pitches massive bond plan Date: 07 Jan 2006 18:03:47 -0800 X-Fingerprint: sentto-2486642-28180-1136689279-news=energy-net.org@returns.groups.yahoo.com-127.127 Published Friday, January 6, 2006, in the San Jose Mercury News Governor pitches rebuilding plan Conciliatory speech: lawmakers, voters urged to OK bond measures By Kate Folmar, Edwin Garcia and Aaron C. Davis Proposing an ambitious plan to build and improve the state's schools, roads and levees, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday night asked Californians to support $25.2 billion in borrowing this year -- and almost $70 billion over the next decade -- in his third State of the State address. Delivering a conciliatory, 23-minute address before a joint session of the Assembly and Senate, Schwarzenegger attempted to make amends for the failed 2005 special election -- which he foreshadowed in a confrontational State of the State speech this time last year. And he laid out a sweeping infrastructure plan for this year, when he will seek re-election. "What a difference a year makes," the state's 38th governor said, speaking from the dais of the standing-room-only Assembly chambers. Schwarzenegger said voters had let him know to "cut the warfare, cool the rhetoric, find common ground and fix the problems together. To my fellow Californians, I say: Message received." His response is an election-year plan that could have widespread appeal and leave him with a tangible legacy. Namely, the Republican governor pitched a massive, 10-year rebuilding plan that would cost $200 billion, of which the state would contribute about one-third. Schwarzenegger said he could do it all without raising taxes by leveraging state dollars to attract local, federal and private dollars. Schwarzenegger also embraced other centrist ideas, such as raising the minimum wage by a dollar, increasing education funding and freezing tuition increases for higher education. "It's a big step in the right direction. We are still living off the investments Pat Brown made," said former Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, who attended the speech. "The governor lost a year of his term in this disastrous battle with teachers, firefighters and nurses. He has to get back to bipartisan causes like building the state's infrastructure. It's the right thing to do. And it's good politics." With the state's population growing, its infrastructure aging and the economy rebounding, Schwarzenegger said now is the time to take control of the future. "I say, build it," the upbeat governor intoned repeatedly, pointing his finger for emphasis -- and drawing applause from both sides of the aisle. "In recent decades, California has invested piecemeal, crisis by crisis, traffic jam by traffic jam," he told the 120 legislators, statewide officers and other dignitaries assembled for the address. "There is a better way, a more fiscally responsible way, to invest in our future." In a televised response, the Democratic leader of the Assembly, Speaker Fabian Núñez , said he was willing to "forge consensus on the critical issues facing us." So did Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, but he hastened to note that Democrats had proposed similar ideas already. The state's share of the public-works undertaking would be $68 billion in borrowing, spread out over elections between 2006 and 2014. By February, Schwarzenegger wants lawmakers to act to place bond measures before the public, perhaps as soon as June -- a very tight timeline for the sometimes pokey Legislature. Schwarzenegger's plan seeks to address five areas: * Transportation and air quality. He's proposing $6 billion in bonds this year -- and $12 billion over the next 10 years -- to build 1,200 miles of new highways, potentially including new lanes on Highway 101 in Santa Clara County and a four-lane expressway on Highway 156, and 600 miles of mass transit. The plan also could encompass new, dedicated truck lanes at the ports of Long Beach and Oakland. * Public schools and universities. The governor seeks $12.4 billion in bonding capacity this year -- and $38 billion over the decade -- to build 40,000 new classrooms and renovate 140,000 more. It would also funnel billions to build new facilities for the University of California and California State University systems. * Flood control and water supply. Schwarzenegger is pushing $3 billion in bonds this year -- $9 billion over the decade -- to double the flood protection on the critical Sacramento Delta and increase the state's water storage capacity. * Public safety. The governor proposes $2.6 billion in borrowing this year -- and $6.8 billion over the decade -- to build two new prisons, a crime lab and space for 83,000 prisoners. * Courts and other public services. Schwarzenegger wants voters to approve $1.2 billion in bonds this year -- and $2.2 billion over the next decade -- to build new courtrooms and renovate and expand others. Hand-in-hand with these proposals, the governor would like the Legislature to place before voters two constitutional amendments. One would limit the state's debt-service ratio to 6 percent of the general fund -- an industry standard that his borrowing program would nearly max out in some years. The other would permanently protect Proposition 42 transportation dollars from being diverted for other purposes. "I was waiting for him to offer a chicken in every pot, because he offered something for everybody," said Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, D-Fremont, who agreed with every improvement proposed by Schwarzenegger. "But the critical question is, how do you absorb (so much) debt over 10 years? We have a budget deficit in California." Putting the bond measures on the ballot will require two-thirds approval in the Legislature, a hurdle that could be difficult if either party balks. "Building jails and courts, I think you are going to see some broad Republican support," said Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine. As for the other proposals, "they will be contingent on some real reforms." Absent from the list were proposals to build more affordable housing or seismically retrofit hospitals. Schwarzenegger aides said he was trying to focus on the most critical needs, but did not rule out other ideas. The speech marked a stark contrast from last year, when Schwarzenegger's tone was all bluster. Then, he asked for collaboration -- but picked a fight with unions and Democrats by pushing for scaled-back public pensions, revamped state budgeting and teacher performance pay. If lawmakers failed to reform the government themselves, Schwarzenegger threatened last year, "the people will rise up and reform it themselves ... And I will fight by their sides." That ultimately led to his defeat in the 2005 special election. It was a year Schwarzenegger would rather forget. This time, there was no talk of fighting. Only of working together and finding "common ground." [BATN: Oink oink.] Contact Kate Folmar at kfolmar@mercurynews.com or (916) 441-4602 Email article texts/URLs for posting to . Manage your subscription by sending a blank email message to: BATN-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to subscribe, BATN-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com to unsubscribe, BATN-digest@yahoogroups.com to switch email to digest mode, BATN-normal@yahoogroups.com to switch email to normal mode, BATN-nomail@yahoogroups.com to switch email delivery off. See http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN for web access & archives.