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Legislature pressed for hasty budget solutions

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal emergency for California on Monday and called the Legislature into special session, ordering them make cuts or find new tax revenues amounting to $1.5 billion to $2 billion within 45 days.

These adjustments to the budget will come in addition to the cuts proposed by Gov. Schwarzenegger in November, which included a $66.3-million cut to the CSU system.

Cal State Long Beach President F. King Alexander said yesterday that asking the Legislature to rush to a solution increases the likelihood that the CSU will have to battle future cuts.

“We certainly hope [the cuts] don’t go any deeper,” Alexander said, but added that Republican state legislators remain highly opposed to raising taxes in order to create new revenue. “[It] backs you into a corner.”

The Alliance for the CSU will hold a rally against cuts to the CSU budget on Dec. 8 in front of the Speaker’s Platform from noon to 1 p.m. The rally is meant to educate students on how the CSU system contributes to the state economy and potential impacts of future cuts.

Economics department chair Joseph Magaddino said state funds to public higher education often get cut because it is one of the larger items on the state budget and has the ability to shift the burden to students in the form of higher fees.

Alexander believes that finding new sources of revenue and making larger investments in higher education is the way to ensure long-term economic stability in California.

On Monday, four California state assemblymembers announced the introduction of a House resolution that would surpass the need for state funding and appeal directly to the federal government for financial help.

Titled the “New Deal for Higher Education,” the resolution calls for a federal program that would give $10 billion to public universities nationwide.

“Just 10 percent of that $700 billion bailout would allow 2 million students to have up to $35,000 to pay for a college education,” said Anthony Portantino, assemblymember and chair of the state Assembly Higher Education Committee, in a press conference on Monday. “Imagine how that investment would return to our economy when we know that for every dollar invested in our education we return $5 back.”

Alexander commented on the resolution, saying “I don’t anticipate the federal government coming to the state’s aid.”

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