Well, no budget deal yet, as redevelopment seems to be the stumbling block right now:

The hump day of the week ended just before 9:30 p.m., when it apparently became clear that the last — and most talked about — bill that was supposed to pass the Assembly in round #1 would not: the governor’s push to abolish redevelopment agencies and shift the money to other programs.  …

Both houses will reconvene at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, whereupon we’re told they’ll start back at it. Of course, none of this resolves the larger, lingering problem: GOP refusal to go along with placing a tax extension on a June special statewide ballot. That $11 billion extension remains the key to the governor’s entire deficit reduction package.

And some of the tax’s supporters — notably those who support programs that would be cut even further without the tax revenues — are getting worried about even having that election. A private poll done for one education group found that while voters, on first blush, would go along with the tax extension… more were persuaded by a “politicians should cut wasteful spending” argument against the taxes than were a “even deeper cuts” argument for the taxes. (John Myers)

Let’s be clear, getting the measures on the ballot is really only the first step. We all know that “waste” is just right-wing code for “we don’t have any ideas, so we’ll just say government is inefficient.”  However, it is effective, that much is shown on pretty much any poll.

But for now, the Governor’s efforts are on getting something on the ballot.  This budget is truly horrifying, the consequences of not passing revenue would be disastrous.

The budget votes are going down right now, and it seems that everybody is anxious to slash money for the social safety net.  I couldn’t be there this evening, but fortunately for us, KQED’s John Myers has been all over this on his twitter feed:

KQED_CapNotes John Myers, KQED

RT @nathanbarankin: Senate passes Prop 10 cut bill ($1 billion) — 36-3.

11 minutes ago

KQED_CapNotes John Myers, KQED

Not linked, per staff. / RT @FlashReport: are these “free standing” cuts – or are they tied to a vote to place taxes on the ballot?

12 minutes ago

KQED_CapNotes John Myers, KQED

Senate working its pkg of bills..approves Medi-Cal cuts (though “urgency” fix must be re-done), now debates Prop10 tobacco tax $. #cabudget

18 minutes ago

You can watch live coverage online at CalChannel, in case you care to see one rather disheartening spectacle.  Jerry Brown has been in the Speaker’s office much of the day trying to wrangle some extra votes for killing off redevelopment.  Interesting to see that amongst all of these cuts, the cuts to redevelopment seems to be getting the most pushback.

I guess the folks trying to get back on their feet in CalWorks or those just trying to survive on Medi-Cal just don’t have as good of lobbyists and PR campaigns.

Well, it seems even Republicans want to get a vote on the tax extensions:

The poll showed 61 percent of all voters surveyed said they were in favor of calling a special election, and 56 percent of Republican voters surveyed said they wanted that, too. However, most of the Republicans – 61 percent – said they would vote against the tax proposal.

Among all voters, 58 percent said they would vote in favor of the tax extension if a special election were held today.

The survey comes in the midst of tense negotiations at the Capitol, where Brown is working to persuade Republican legislators to allow a special election in June. Two Republicans in both the state Senate and Assembly would have to join all the Democrats in voting to hold the election.(SF Chronicle)

You can get the full poll details from Field here. Now, it doesn’t really surprise to see that Republicans would vote against the measure, but, if the Republicans in the Legislature think they are doing some grand favor for their party, and their voters, well, they are just way off base.  It seems not everybody is as blindly ideological as Grover Norquist and Tony Strickland.

Quit the games, quit the naked partisanship, and let’s get this on the ballot.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg is moving the budget to the floor tomorrow afternoon.

“The Senate will convene tomorrow at 1:00 pm to vote on the budget,” said Senator Steinberg. “As approved by the budget conference committee, the Governor’s proposed budget is the only plan on the table that responsibly and honestly promises to put California’s fiscal crisis behind us once and for all. It’s also a plan that allows Californians to vote on the future of our state. There is no time to waste. Let’s vote.”

So, while it seems unlikely that there are the extra two votes to make this happen, at least there will be some sort of show.

UPDATE: The Assembly will also hold a vote at 1pm tomorrow.

UPDATE 2: After losing his chairmanship over saying that he didn’t have to help with the budget, Sen. Tom Berryhill is indicating that he would support an election because the result without an election would be too dire to consider:

“If this thing fails in June, you are going to see catastrophic spending cutbacks that are going to hurt every single city and town in this state. A lot of bad stuff is going to happen,” he said. “There is urgency on our part to fix this thing before it all goes to heck in a hand basket.”

The Republican leadership in the Legislature has dismissed Brown’s proposal out of hand, saying it includes tax increases that voters have rejected in the past.

Berryhill’s endorsement of a June election was cautious, however. Before he agrees to giving voters a chance to extend billions of dollars in income, sales and vehicle taxes, Brown must first cede ground on issues such as pensions and future state spending, he said. Berryhill said union opposition to such a compromise was the main obstacle to reaching a bipartisan deal.(LA Times)