The Sunnyvale Sun

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Council gets update on budget woes in capital

By Cody Kraatz

"This has been a very dysfunctional year in Sacramento," said state Sen. Elaine Alquist in her update to the Sunnyvale City Council on Oct. 30, referring to a very late state budget that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger eventually trimmed with line item vetoes.

"We really need to have just a simple majority. This really needs to be a true democracy."

Currently, California requires a two-thirds supermajority to pass a budget, and despite a June 15 constitutional deadline it was nearly two months late this year because Republican legislators would not approve it.

"I think California deserves better than this," said Alquist, adding that next year could be even more difficult, and jabbing Schwarzenegger for cutting services she put into the budget.

Alquist noted that she helped secure a $600,000 contribution to the Sunnyvale Historical Society and Museum that was approved on Oct. 26 by the California Cultural and Historical Endowment.