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Jon Fleischman

Have a second? Read the budget!

If you need the case for reforming the budget-drafting process, then take two minutes to read the budget bill here.  Good luck though, it would take a seasoned state policy expert a much longer time to even delve into this document.  And it doesn’t even include the 27 trailer bills.

If the process is working correctly, authentic budget negotiations (you know, between Republicans and Democrats) would take place in the normal Budget Committee process.  But of course that doesn’t happen now, as the majority party rams through "their" budget through committee on a majority vote — disregarding the fact that it takes a 2/3 vote to pass the budget in each chamber.  It’s worthy of note that Senator Jeff Denham introduced legislation to do just this — which was voted down by Democrats.

So now just about everyone has to play "catch up" and figure out what the heck is in this mammoth and recently released budget language.