January 19, 2012/Sacramento—In yesterday’s State of the State speech, Governor Brown made his case that California is not in decline, despite the pronouncements of what he called “dystopian journalists” and other critics. He acknowledged the budgetary problems he faced when he entered office a year ago, but said progress has been made, although mostly through cuts, in reducing the state’s structural deficit. He pointed out matter of factly that he couldn’t find four Republican legislative votes to pass an extension of temporary taxes last June, and so now he is forced to go to the ballot to avoid further reductions in services.

January 5, 2012—The Restoring California Coalition released the following statement today regarding the Governor’s 2012 budget proposal:

Governor Brown’s 2012 budget proposal demonstrates the continuing dire need of the state for increased revenues to fund programs that Californians want and deserve. Without new revenues, his budget proposal would continue to slash funding from education and services.