Sacramento - Faced with a $26 billion budget deficit, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed off on a number of budget cuts that will have a direct impact on Amador County. During his State of the State address in January, Schwarzenegger called the massive deficit “a rock upon our chest, and we cannot breathe until we get it off.” Since then he has proposed draconian cost-cutting measures, from scheduling early release for prisoners to selling off historic state properties. The Legislature remained deadlocked in budget negotiations for months before finally agreeing on a solution July 28 that includes $16.1 billion in spending reductions. When included with the $15 billion in reductions last February, the cuts amount to approximately $31 billion. While the package makes it possible for the state to operate during the current fiscal year without new taxes, it spares few other areas, including $9.3 billion in cuts to education, $3 billion in cuts for health and human services and cuts in general government spending of $1.7 billion. Even then, it was still $156 million short of being balanced. Schwarzenegger likened the approval process to “the good the bad and the ugly.” Almost simultaneously, he signed off on another $489 million in spending cuts to eliminate the $156 million deficit and build up the reserve, borrowed $50 million from a state special fund and found $117 more in savings from last fiscal year. Many of theses drastic cuts will be felt locally. The largest cut was $80 million allocated to counties for child abuse programs. $27.8 million was eliminated from the Williamson Act program, which enables local governments to enter into contracts with private landowners for the purpose of restricting specific parcels of land to agricultural or open space use. $6.2 million will be eliminated from the state parks budget, resulting in the likely closure of 100 of the state’s 280 parks. $50 million was eliminated from the Healthy Families program, providing medical insurance to low-income families that don’t qualify for MediCal. $52.1 million was cut from the Office of AIDS Prevention and Treatment, eliminating all services except drug assistance and surveillance. Schwarzenegger said, “I see the real Californians that will be affected by the decisions made within this budget and nothing guarantees revenues won’t drop further, but this budget puts us on a path toward fiscal responsibility so we can focus on bringing jobs back to get California moving forward again.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.