SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Lawmakers scheduled a Wednesday vote on a Democratic proposal to close part of California's $24.3 billion budget deficit, but the plan appears doomed to fail.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Republicans criticize it as not addressing the full deficit and raising taxes.
Even calling the session Wednesday is "wasting time," Schwarzenegger Communications Director Matt David said.
State finance officials have warned that without a balanced spending plan by next week, California will not have enough money to pay all its bills by the end of July.
Wednesday will mark the first time the deficit will be debated by the full Legislature since the governor laid out his revised budget proposal last month.
Democrats proposed a $23.2 billion package containing a mix of spending cuts, accounting shifts, fee increases and new taxes on tobacco products and companies that drill for oil. They say it does address the full deficit, only lacking the governor's demand for higher reserve.
The plan would cut $5.5 billion from public education but would return billions of dollars to schools in the future.
Senate Majority Leader Darrell Steinberg said Democrats rejected the governor's proposals to eliminate health insurance for nearly 1 million low-income children, the state's welfare-to-work program and college grants.
"The governor's price, as laid out in his series of May revises, is too high," Steinberg said. "We're not eliminating the safety net for the most vulnerable Californians. We're not doing it. It's anathema to everything I believe in."
The governor's plan would cut $15 billion from state spending while the Democrats' plan cuts $11 billion. Schwarzenegger's proposal would make up the rest of the deficit by borrowing from local governments, shifting money between accounts and accelerating the collection of personal income and corporate taxes.
Some Republican support will be needed for the Legislature to pass tax hikes because of California's two-thirds vote requirement. Democrats have 49 seats in the Assembly, where 54 votes are needed to pass a budget. They hold 25 seats in the Senate, where 27 votes are needed.
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Associated Press Writer Samantha Young contributed to this report.
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