Fiscal Emergency Proclamation

From the governor's website:

PROCLAMATION

12/19/2008 Fiscal Emergency Proclamation 12/19/2008 PROCLAMATION by the Governor of the State of California WHEREAS, due to developments in the worldwide and national financial markets, and continuing weak performance in the California economy, there is an approximately $15 billion General Fund deficit for the 2008-09 fiscal year, which without effective action, is estimated to grow to a $42 billion General Fund budget shortfall over the next 18 months; and WHEREAS on November 6, 2008, due to concerns regarding dramatically declining revenues, I issued a Special Session Proclamation and convened the Legislature of the State of California to meet in extraordinary session to address the fiscal crisis that California faces; and WHEREAS the Legislature failed during that Special Session to enact any bills to address the State's significant economic problems; and WHEREAS on December 1, 2008, due to the worsening fiscal crisis, I declared that a fiscal emergency exists and convened the Legislature to meet in extraordinary session to address the fiscal crisis that California faces; and WHEREAS on December 1, 2008, due to the fiscal emergency and the nationwide economic recession, I also issued a Special Session Proclamation and convened the Legislature of the State of California to meet in extraordinary session to address the economic crisis; and WHEREAS on December 17, 2008, the California Pooled Money Investment Board took the unprecedented action to halt lending money for an estimated 2,000 infrastructure projects as a result of the cash crisis, including the substantial risk that California will have insufficient cash to meet its obligations starting in February 2009; and WHEREAS the Legislature has failed to take action in the fiscal emergency extraordinary session to effectively address the unprecedented statewide fiscal crisis; and WHEREAS immediate and comprehensive action is needed to address the revenue shortfall facing the State of California; and WHEREAS within months the State will not be able to meet all of its expenses, outside of debt service, without immediate and comprehensive action; and WHEREAS failure to substantially reduce the deficit carried forward from the current fiscal year into the next fiscal year will likely prevent the State from being able to finance the cashflow shortages of billions of dollars that will occur in July and August, thus making it likely that this fiscal year's deficit will cause the State to miss payroll and other essential services payments at the beginning of 2009; and WHEREAS, according to the Legislative Analyst, next fiscal year's budget will be even more out of balance than the current year budget and balancing the 2009/2010 budget will be immeasurably more difficult if actions to reduce spending trends and increase revenue trends are not put into place immediately. NOW, THEREFORE, I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the State of California, in accordance with Section 10(f) of Article IV of the Constitution of the State of California, HEREBY DETERMINE that General Fund revenues for Fiscal Year 2008-09 will decline substantially below the estimate of General Fund revenues upon which the 2008 Budget Act was based. I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the State of California, HEREBY DECLARE that a fiscal emergency exists. I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the State of California, HEREBY IDENTIFY THE NATURE OF THIS FISCAL EMERGENCY to be the projected budget imbalance and insufficient cash reserves for Fiscal Year 2008-09 and the projected insufficient cash reserves and potential budgetary and cash deficit in Fiscal Year 2009-10 which are anticipated to result from the dramatically lower than estimated General Fund revenues in Fiscal Year 2008-09. FURTHER, on this day, as required by Section10(f) of Article IV of the Constitution of the State of California, I will cause the Legislature to assemble in special session to address this fiscal emergency, and I will submit to the Legislature proposed legislation to address this fiscal emergency. IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 19th day of December, 2008. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER Governor of California ATTEST: DEBRA BOWEN Secretary of State PS: I have no idea how the graphics on this are going to work when it posts. I'll fix it tonight if it's bad. In the meantime, if you can't read it, click the link at the top. PPS: Graphics fixed. Also, here's the letter the governor sent to state workers. Let me know if you think that would make you feel better.