Lawmakers: Calif. budget crisis resolved, for now

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Officials say there's no guarantee that California's budget troubles are over for now, even after state lawmakers approved a complex package of spending cuts, raids on local government funding and accounting maneuvers to fill a gigantic budget deficit.

"People often ask me, 'Well, have you fixed the problem forever?'" State Assembly Speaker Karen Bass said Friday after the Legislature wrapped up a session that lasted about 24 hours.

"I have no way of knowing," the Los Angeles Democrat added. "We are in the worst recession since the Great Depression, ... and we don't exactly know where the economy is going right now."

The legislative package of about 30 bills was similar to the deal announced earlier this week by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders from both parties.

But the Assembly rejected two of the most controversial measures: A plan to take about $1 billion in transportation funding from local governments and a measure that would have allowed new oil drilling off the California coast for the first time in 40 years. That was to have brought in $100 million this fiscal year.

The loss of $1.1 billion from the budget package means Schwarzenegger will use his veto authority to make even deeper cuts to close the gap.

"It's the only way to solve the problem and to save our great state. The only way to do it is to spread the sacrifice. It saves our state from financial ruin and from drowning into the fiscal abyss," the governor said.