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Schwarzenegger Progress Report: What Has He Done So Far?
The State of California under Schwarzenegger

Rachel Franklin
Staff Writer

So how is Arnold Schwarzenegger progressing as the governor of our nation’s most populous and fiscally challenged state?

California is currently plagued with by one of the worst budget crises in state history. In mid-December, Schwarzenegger declared the state of California to be in a fiscal crisis. He then invoked emergency powers, giving him the authority to enact spending cuts totaling $150 million without the Legislature’s approval. These cuts were made primarily in social service programs. Yet despite this seemingly sizable reduction in expenditures, $150 million in cuts barely made a dent in the state’s $99 billion budget for the current fiscal year. Within the next year and a half, if current spending and revenues remain the same, California will be forced to deal with a $12 billion to $24 billion budget deficit.

In his State of the State address in early January, Governor Schwarzenegger advocated a $15 billion bond measure to be put on the ballot in March. If successful, this bond will save California from bankruptcy in June, when $14 billion in short-term loans are due. Many people, however, oppose this measure, as they feel that borrowing money is not a substitute for revenue. Thus far, there is weak support for Schwarzenegger’s plan, according to public opinion polls. If the proposition does not pass when put to the polls on March 2, one of the most important areas that will suffer cuts is education.

The final state budget for the coming fiscal year is due in July, and the government’s 37 departments have already compiled a detailed list of programs that may be cut next year.

The governor is against raising taxes, as he believes that it will not solve the monstrous budget deficit. However, he has yet to make any progress in replacing the billions of dollars in lost revenue from the car tax increase he repealed in his first official act as governor. This money would have been used primarily to fund local government services.

Due to these budget cuts, Los Angeles County, California’s largest county, is expecting a $459 million loss in government revenue that may result in the loss of over 4,600 jobs. The Sheriff’s Department and the Department of Parks and Recreation will be among the hardest hit, in terms of the percentage of their budget cut. These cuts may result in the elimination of anti-gang and search-and-rescue programs, the closing of five jails, and the release of inmates charged with misdemeanors. Ten of Los Angeles County’s 84 public libraries will be forced to close and free public swimming pools and botanical gardens will also be left with no choice but to shut down, as will many other programs. For two years now, programs have been cut and funding reduced in many departments. Employees have not had salary increases at all during this fiscal crisis, and reserve funds have already been spent. The general consensus is that there is very little spending left to be trimmed, except the wages of laid off workers. The governor is working on down-sizing the state government, eliminating positions and departments that do not serve a public need, thus reducing spending and purging the system of waste.

In the State of the State speech, Schwarzenegger also mentioned his California Recovery Plan, which would encourage investment in business and create more jobs, thereby rebuilding the state’s economy. According to Schwarzenegger, the workers’ compensation reform is a vital aspect in the plan to salvage California’s economy. Currently, the employer-paid workers’ compensation insurance premiums in California are twice the national average and the highest in the nation. However, until recently benefits for injured workers were among the lowest in the nation. Now, they are merely average, despite the high premiums.

Schwarzenegger has also signed a repeal of Senate Bill 60, a bill that would have allowed approximately two million illegal immigrants obtain driver’s licenses by using taxpayer identification numbers instead of Social Security Numbers. This repeal fulfills one of his campaign promises. As an immigrant to the United States himself, Schwarzenegger believes that allowing illegal immigrants to get licenses is the wrong way to handle the issue. Instead, he plans on working with legislators to form a new law, complete with more extensive background checks for applicants and other security measures.

During his first week in office, the governor paroled two killers. Schwarzenegger’s supporters have referenced this as evidence for his commitment to law and order and respect for the system: qualities that former-Governor Gray Davis lacked. While he paroled these two inmates, he also declined the parole board’s suggestion to release two other inmates, citing their potential threat to public safety and insufficient progress. The governor’s refusal of the board’s recommendation has convinced some Californians that he will do what is just and not let the board control the entire parole program.

Currently, Schwarzenegger is confronted with the mounting public sentiment that California’s extensive prison system is in dire need of reform. There is widespread violence, corruption, and inefficiency in both the adult and juvenile systems. Schwarzenegger professes to be taking this problem seriously by making an effort to bring order back into the system and reducing the abuses of power and corruption in the Department of Corrections. According to reports made from confidential interviews and visits, the juvenile prisons allegedly were host to violence by the staff members and inhumane conditions, with tiny wire cages serving as isolation cells. State Senator Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), who is the chairwoman of the Senate committee on corrections, stated, “we clearly have a juvenile detention system that is in chaos, ruled by fear and neglect.” The governor has been criticized for his approach to solving this problem—the formation of a task force of experts to study the system’s shortcomings. Schwarzenegger also slashed the budget of the Office of the Inspector General and made the prison program’s overseer Roderick Q. Hickman, the new head of the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency. Critics of this decision claim that the agency will be unable to function independently under Hickman’s control. They are also afraid that many of the reforms may be merely temporary fixes, rather than permanent solutions.

Schwarzenegger still has a very full plate in front of him. Finding a viable solution to the fiscal crisis will not be an easy task. California has many problems, many of which Schwarzenegger has begun to tackle during his brief term in office so far. The question remains: can this actor-turned-governor handle the monumental task set before him of reforming and reviving California and lifting her out of the financial quicksand into which she seems to be disappearing?

Staff Writer Rachel Franklin can be contacted at:
franklrl@email.unc.edu

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