California lawmakers try to tackle $6 billion deficit

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File photo: California State Senate President Pro Tem Sen. Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) speaks with reporters before going into caucus to discuss the vote on a solution to the state's budget problem July 23, 2009 in Sacramento, California.

Governor Schwarzenegger called lawmakers into a special session earlier this year to solve a $6 billion deficit. Today is the deadline for those lawmakers to tackle that much of California's fiscal problem. The state faces a total deficit of $20 billion if you count the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Senate Democrats have proposed a series of bills to solve about $5 billion of the $6 billion deficit California faces this year.

Senate leader Darrell Steinberg says the plan – while still about a billion shy of the mark – is as far as he's willing to go until the state has a better picture of California’s fiscal situation after tax day.

"I am not willing to wade into cutting health and human services and education deeper as our first budget act of 2010," Steinberg said last week. "Now Let's see what kind of economic recovery we have, let's see how big the hole is, let's see what revenue options there may be – but we've done enough damage."

The Democrats’ proposal does cut some health services for inmates to save nearly a billion dollars. It also proposes to swap the state's sales tax on gas with an excise tax. That could save the state $2 billion that normally supports local transportation.  Democrats shelved for now a plan that would have forced employers to withhold taxes for independent contractors, because the governor opposed it. 

The Senate approved most of the budget bills last week and probably will finish the rest soon. 

The Assembly expects to start voting on parts of the plan today.