The Assembly Budget Committee this morning sent to the full Assembly two bills that would help stabilize California’s fiscal system: SB 14 and SB 15. They passed with votes of 20-0 and 20-1, respectively.
In today’s San Jose Mercury News, Kim Polese, board member on the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, discusses why these reforms must be enacted:
Two “no-brainer” budget-related bills are now in the Legislature, and they deserve bipartisan support and the governor’s signature. SB 14 and SB 15 are age-old, time-tested and basic common sense principles of running any business or project that involves revenue and expenses. Every student in a Business 101 course learns about the importance of such measures in building a lasting enterprise.
Enacting SB 14 — which calls for a performance-based budget — and SB 15 — requiring a multiyear budget — would signal a commitment to entrepreneurs, to California businesses thinking about expansion and to businesses considering an investment in the state that the government is taking the issue of performance seriously. SB 14 and SB 15 are the beginning of a new way of doing the public’s business — by putting a focus on results, continuous improvement and the long-term impacts of essential public services.
California Forward, along with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and many other organizations, has supported these bills as part of a package of reforms that would bring more security and certainty to a budget process that has spiraled out of control.
