CA Senate Repubs Balk At Dem-Drafted "Infrastructure" Bond For June Ballot; Dem. Sen. Leader Perata Says "Now We're Talking About November"; Gov . Schwarzenegger Says He's Ready To Meet Over Weekend

Measure Included $2 Billion For CA Ports Without Requiring No Net Increase (Or Real Decrease) In LB-LA Port Pollution

Sen. McClintock: ...During those years we built the finest highway system in the world, one of the largest water projects in history and the foremost university system in the country...Now, for a reality check, in all eight years combined of the Pat Brown administration, Gov. Brown borrowed the equivalent, using modern inflation adjusted dollars, of $20 billion in general obligation bonds. The proposal now before us is to borrow nearly $50 billion...

Again in 2006 inflation adjusted figures, Pat Brown spent less than $1,500 per person in his final year in office of general and special funds combined. Today, we're spending well above $3,000 per person.

When Pat Brown finished this remarkable era of public works, our entire debt service ratio was just 2.2%. Before embarking upon this new borrowing binge, our debt service ratio is 5.9%.

In his last year in office, the inflation adjusted general fund deficit, again using 2006 inflation adjusted dollars, was less than $700 million. Ours is nearly $6 billion dollars.

In past days, our credit rating was the highest in the country. Today our bond rating is the lowest in the country.

So here we are at a fiscal paradox. Despite record borrowing, we have nothing to show for it, and despite record spending we can't seem to scrape together enough money to build a decent road system or educate our kids or protect our families from predators.

Gov. Schwarzenegger statement: First of all, I want to thank Senator Perata, Speaker Nunez, Senator Ackerman and Assemblymember McCarthy for all of their hard work this week. We have worked late into the night for the third night in a row, and I am encouraged by the tremendous progress we have made. California is adding 500,000 people a year and Californians deserve to have leaders that act responsibly now so we can be ready for the future. For too long, Californians have been stuck in traffic, sent their children to dilapidated schools and lived behind levees with less flood protection than New Orleans. I will work throughout the weekend to do what the people have sent us to Sacramento to do. Both Democrats and Republicans need to keep working towards building a future that the people of California deserve."

In determining projects eligible for funding, the [CA Transportation Commission] shall consult the trade infrastructure and goods movement plan submitted to the commission by the Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing and the Secretary for Environmental Protection. No moneys shall be allocated from this fund until the report is submitted to the commission for its consideration, provided the report is submitted no later than August 1, 2006. The commission shall also consult trade infrastructure and goods movement plans adopted by regional transportation planning agencies, adopted regional transportation plans required by state and federal law, and the statewide port master plan prepared by the California Marine and Intermodal Transportation System Advisory Council (Cal-MITSAC) pursuant to Section 1760 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, when determining project eligibility for funding. Eligible projects for these funds include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

• (i) Highway capacity improvements and operational improvements to more efficiently accommodate the movement of freight, particularly for ingress and egress to and from the state's seaports, land ports of entry, and airports, and to relieve traffic congestion along major trade or goods movement corridors.
• (ii) Freight rail system improvements to enhance the ability to move goods from seaports, land ports of entry, and airports to warehousing and distribution centers throughout California, including projects that separate rail lines from highway traffic, improve freight rail mobility through mountainous regions, and other projects that improve the efficiency and capacity of the rail freight system.
• (iii) Projects to enhance the capacity and efficiency of ports.
• (iv) Truck corridor improvements, including dedicated truck facilities or truck toll facilities.
• (v) Border access improvements that enhance goods movement between California and Mexico and that maximize the state's ability to access coordinated border infrastructure funds made available to the state by federal law.
• (vi) Surface transportation improvements to facilitate the movement of goods to and from the state's airports.

(i) addresses the state's most urgent needs, (ii) balances the demands of various ports (between large and small ports, as well as between seaports, airports, and land ports of entry), (iii) provides reasonable geographic balance between the state's regions, and (iv) places emphasis on projects that improve trade corridor mobility while reducing emissions of diesel particulate and other pollutant emissions. In addition, the commission shall also consider the following factors when allocating these funds:

(i) "Velocity," which means the speed by which large cargo would travel from the port through the distribution system.
• (ii) "Throughput," which means the volume of cargo that would move from the port through the distribution system.
• (iii) "Reliability," which means a reasonably consistent and predictable amount of time for cargo to travel from one point to another on any given day or at any given time in California.
• (iv) "Congestion reduction," which means the reduction in recurrent daily hours of delay to be achieved.

Sen. Perata:: I just want to correct a few things. The bond includes $1.4 billion for parks and $4.1 billion for flood control. The reason we did 4.1 instead of the full 6 is because the governor and we decided that the locals should have the responsibility that statutorily is there today, to pay their fair share.

We punted on the federal government but we were not about to say we cannot control the feds we will not control the locals.

3.9 billion dollars of the flood control is direct repair and improvement. So let’s just be honest about something. We have given this administration everything it needs to do the job as fast as it needs to get done and can get done.

I don’t know about some of you but I read the DWR [Dept. of Water Resources] report. It came out last year. It was a modification of a report that came out two years before that. This has been a persistent problem and I don’t think there is any doubt that the money there, forget everything else -- that the money is there for this administration to fix those levees. I don’t care how you stack it up, something goes wrong, somebody is going to be looking for somebody.

The remaining money was for flood subvention, like the Yolo Bypass. I finally figured out one day why that has water sometimes and not others. It’s so the rest of the place isn’t flooded. Somebody thought that through pretty well. So we thought if it works in the Yolo Bypass, what the hell, why don’t we let it work in other places.

On storage, the governor said he needed a dam above and the equivalent of a dam underneath, and we gave him both. Now we can argue all we want about whether Perris Island, or Perris Lake or whatever, and I’m really sorry a lot of people moved around there. But the fact of the matter is if you want to build a dam anywhere, somebody is going to have to pay for it and somebody is going to be inconvenienced.

And since the state Cal-fed plan says there has top be a second Diamond Valley somewhere in Los Angeles, we thought it was a pretty good opportunity to build that one now, and when Cal-fed finally figures out where the rest of this stuff should go, we can make decisions about that.

So, on with what the governor wanted, and if you thought this was a sucker punch in the last minute, I sat with the governor yesterday -- so did the speaker -- and he said I want a dam. Now we can argue forever where that dam ought to be, but no one’s going to tell me that is not a dam. It is there now. Seismically, there is no seismically safe dam in California. The reason they are taking it down is because it doesn’t work. When they rebuild it, I assume they will build it to work.

So we’re going to go back to work ourselves, and whether or not we get anything on the November ballot remains to be seen. But I will tell you that for us to re-engage there is going to have to be a very clear set of negotiations set forward by the governor. He is going to have to tell us what he wants from us and how he wants to proceed because I don’t want to hear anymore that we don’t know what’s in this.

You’ve got a responsibility just like I do. This was not delayed tonight because of Democrats, and I don’t think it was delayed tonight because of Republicans. It was delayed tonight because we did not have the leadership necessary. Now there has been a meeting going on for the last couple of hours across the way. That tells me that maybe we’re doing the dozens here.

Now if you want to be played off against one another that’s up to you. I don’t want to play that game. I believe that the Senate can come up with a reasonable plan. We couldn’t do it tonight, but if Dick and I had to do it over again, I bet you we would be doing it differently.

So tonight I am going to ask for this vote to go up. I hope that the discussion here tonight will be taken constructively. I don't think there is anybody in here who does not want to get something done, and we still have an opportunity, but I think the best opportunity has passed us by. So let us redouble our efforts. In the future, I assume after what was said here this evening, that nobody is going to want to something pasted together over the weekend and thrown on your desk on Monday. I certainly don't. That would be wrong.

So we are now talking about November. We’re talking about months ahead, then we’re talking about the political season heating up. Let me end on this note. Pat Brown’s name was invoked a lot tonight. Jerry Brown's was not...