Bay Area Council Leadership Forum Speaker Series: Senator Mark Leno visits the Bay Area Council to talk budget options

Senator Mark Leno, Chair of the Senate Budget Committee visited the Bay Area Council on Friday to talk about the current status of budget negotiations in Sacramento.  The good news was that May revise revenue figures were better than expected ($6.6 billion over 2 years) largely as a result of higher than projected sales tax revenues.  The bad news is that the revised figures have thrown somewhat of a spanner in the budget negotiations, and it is now less clear than ever what the final solution might be to close the remaining $10 billion, give or take, deficit in the state budget.

Senator Leno offered a number of possible scenarios for ballot measures that would raise revenues, including one possibility that would delay a vote on taxes until November 2012 when the makeup of the electorate would likely be more favorable to the Governor’s tax extension proposal.  The Senator thanked the Bay Area Council for our courage and leadership in supporting Governor Brown’s balanced budget and urged us to continue our call for a bipartisan solution to this critical problem.

Thank you to Bay Area Council member, Acteva for sponsoring our lunch, and to Government Relations Committee Co-Chair, Caroline Rodman of TY Lin, for hosting.