SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California legislature ****** a long-awaited budget early Thursday after an epic battle that involved several all-night sessions, sending the governor a package of bills that raise taxes and cut spending to help close a $42 billion deficit.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, praised the bill, ****** by the Democratic-controlled Senate and Assembly. He came out of his office after the budget vote and disconnected a large deficit clock counting the number of days — 106 as of Thursday — that the Legislature had failed to act since he declared a special session to deal with the state's fiscal problems.
