SACRAMENTO – Senate Republican Leader Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel), Senator Jim Nielsen (R-Tehama), vice chair of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee and budget conferee, and Senator John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa), member of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee and budget conferee, issued the following joint statement after Sacramento Democrats passed a record-spending 2018-19 state budget on June 14:
“Drafted behind closed doors with no public involvement, a lack of transparency, and showing a complete disregard for the rules of the Legislature, Sacramento Democrats have cobbled together a state budget that fails to prioritize spending in any sensible manner.
“Democrat budget writers favored special interests over individuals with developmental disabilities. They also left victims of human trafficking at-risk, and completely disregarded funding to prosecute those traffickers. Furthermore, our request for additional funding for the Armed Prohibited Persons System, to reduce the backlog and remove firearms from the hands of dangerous criminals, was rejected.
“While we applaud the governor and the Senate President pro Tem for increasing the rainy day fund, we should also be wary of future economic downturns and pay down more of the massive pension and health debts.”
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Senate Republican Leader Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) represents the 36th Senate District in the California Legislature, which covers South Orange County, North San Diego County and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. Follow her on Twitter & Facebook.
Elected to the State Senate in January 2013, Senator Jim Nielsen (R-Tehama) represents the Fourth Senate District, which includes the counties of Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Tehama and Yuba. Please follow him on Twitter & Facebook.
State Senator John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa) represents the 37th district of California, is a trained Certified Financial Planner and is the only trained CPA in the California Senate. He gained national attention 22 years ago when he was appointed Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector and helped the County recover from its bankruptcy filing – at the time the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. History. Follow him on Facebook & Twitter.