With state budget talks officially "halted," all political sides are now forced to come up with a public plan b.
Gov. Jerry Brown abandoned any idea of getting a tax vote on the June ballot, but is sticking to the desire to fix the budget deficit with new tax revenues.
Republicans remain opposed to the taxes, but don't seem to have come up with an alternative.
Brown says his next steps will include a lot of travel as he crisscrosses the state to make the case for raising taxes, according to the Associated Press.
Democratic lawmakers said they are going to show the California voters what it will look like it they are forced to make the deeper cut s needed to meet the remaining $15.4 billion deficit. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg told reporters Thursday that the list starts with larger class sizes and less money for public safety.
As for the Republicans, Senate Minority Leader Bob Dutton said he is going to start promoting
the GOP message of reducing business regulations.
Dutton also played a little of the blame game Thursday when he held a joint press conference with Sen. Bob Huff.
The Sacramento Bee said Dutton put some of the blame of the budget collapse on Brown's wife Anne Gust Brown claiming she "yelled" at him. "Frankly, I was yelled at more than I was talked to," the Bee quote Dutton saying, "and mostly by Mrs. Brown, not even Gov. Brown." "Frankly, I was yelled at more than I was talked to," Dutton said, "and mostly by Mrs. Brown, not even Gov. Brown."
Steinberg also pointed out that June is not the only month on the calendar, inferring that a ballot measure is still an option at a later date.
