Democrats in the California Senate failed last week to win the three Republican votes necessary to override Gov. George Deukmejian’s veto last month of a $76.3-million school-funding bill.
The 24-to-12 override vote broke along partisan lines, with all 12 Republicans voting to sustain the veto. Twenty-seven votes, or a two-thirds majority, was needed to nullify the Governor’s action.
The vetoed bill would have provided additional education funds in the current fiscal year for the state’s “urban impact aid’’ program, a transportation program, and the state’s community colleges.
The dispute began last fall, when Mr. Deukmejian used his line-item veto authority to cut funding for the programs. Lawmakers passed a bill this session restoring the funds, but the Governor used his veto power to cut the funds from the budget a second time in March. (See Education Week, April 8, 1987.)
The chief issue in the dispute is the source of revenue for the programs. Democrats have proposed to finance them from the state’s general-fund budget surplus. The Governor, meanwhile, has proposed paying for them from a $400-million reserve in the state’s public-employee pension fund.
State Senator Barry Keene, the Democratic floor leader and a sponsor of the vetoed bill, delayed final action on the measure by requesting, and receiving, permission for a second override vote at a later date.
--BOB SCHMIDT
