After Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor said California's budget situation has the state on a path to five years of deficits, state Assembly Budget Committee Chair John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) said he agrees with the prescription for fixing it: a combination of cuts and additional revenue.

"It should also be pointed out that, while the Legislature must act quickly, it is also critical that the federal government come through with significant relief for states," said Laird in a statement Tuesday.  "The problems we are facing are not primarily unique to California, but are instead a result of the national and worldwide economic crisis."

Laird also said the Assembly Budget Committee would have an informal session Friday to begin discussion of how to fix the state's budget woes, which have prompted a special session of the legislature to close a deficit in the current fiscal year's budget of more than $11 billion.

Taylor said in an analysis earlier Tuesday that California will have a deficit of up to $27.8 billion in the next 20 months, and is likely to have deficits for years after that.

The special session is designed to address the deficit in the 2008-09 state budget, though Taylor encouraged lawmakers to address the situation from a long-term perspective to avoid future deficits.

Legislators must finalize a plan by Nov. 23, by most estimates, or otherwise punt it to a new legislative year that begins Dec. 1. Laird and other legislators term out at the end of the special session, replaced by freshmen lawmakers elected Nov. 4.