Brown Reveals Proposal To ‘Start From Scratch’ on Next Year’s Budget
On Tuesday, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown released a policy proposal that calls for next year's budget plan to "start from scratch," the Sacramento Bee reports.
Attorney General Brown's "zero-based" plan would require every state agency to justify its spending request from a base amount of zero dollars, rather than from the amount it received the previous year.
The eight-page proposal also calls for budget negotiations to begin in November of this year (Chang, Sacramento Bee, 9/16).
Cutting Prison Medical Spending
Brown's proposal aims to reduce prison health care costs by allowing for the release of elderly and terminally ill inmates (York, "PolitiCal," Los Angeles Times, 9/15). His plan also calls for the state to pursue legal challenges to federal court orders that mandate higher prison spending.
Former e-Bay CEO Meg Whitman, who is the Republican candidate for governor, also has proposed cuts to prison health care spending.
Other Details in Brown's Proposal
In addition to the prison health care cuts, Brown's plan would:
- Require ballot initiatives to identify sources of revenue for new spending;
- Establish a rainy-day fund that could be used during economic downturns;
- Reinstate a commission to overhaul the state's tax system; and
- Suspend nonemergency legislation after budget deadlines have passed (Sacramento Bee, 9/16).