Don Perata

STATE CAPITOL -- Flanked by legislative leaders in both parties, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced said Monday that he will call lawmakers back in for a special session on Nov. 5 to tackle the state's worsening budget problem.

Schwarzenegger said the session will deal with not only the budget - now more than $3 billion in deficit after being enacted only weeks ago - but economic stimulus, tax modernization, foreclosure relief and more.

A bill that would pour $5 billion into badly need California courthouse construction and repair was signed into law Friday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The legislation, SB 1407, was authored state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata will provide public bond funds to finance the construction of approximately 40 major capital court projects throughout the state. The bonds would be funded by increased fines and court fees and therefore does not impact the state's general fund.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Legislators of both parties in the California state Capitol were disappointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's vow Tuesday to veto the 2008-09 state budget when it reaches his desk and some went so far as to say that the flaws in the budget were the governor's own fault. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) pointed out that previous budget proposals with reform measures the governor backed died because he couldn't get any Republican legislators to support them.

SACRAMENTO - State Senate and Assembly leaders late Sunday afternoon announced that they have brokered a spending plan agreement, thus bringing to a close the longest budget impasse in state history.

The deal was closed when Democrats backed away from their push to increase the state's sales tax to help close a whopping near $16 billion budget deficit.

"It was time to end this," Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) told the Los Angeles Times in this story.

Details of the final budget package were not released Sunday. Both the Senate and the Assembly are expected to vote on the final plan sometime Monday night.

SACRAMENTO - It looks like California's well known Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger may soon get to know intimately what the phrase "Those that live by the sword, die by the sword" means.

It seems that the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, whose union members are still upset over Schwarzenegger's decision to not grant them a raise this year, are contemplating launching a recall campaign against the celebrity governor.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reiterated Wednesday what he's said before: No state budget, no attendance or speech at the Republican National Convention next week for him.

Speaking at a Los Angeles press conference with representatives from California cities and counties on the need for a state budget, Schwarzenegger said he remained flattered to be invited to give a prime time speech at the convention next Monday, but was focused on matters closer to home.

"To me, the most important thing right now is the budget crisis," Schwarzenegger said.

Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill took a dim view of Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's "compromise" state budget proposal Wednesday, saying the governor was rejecting sound economic strategies that his own party has embraced.

"The only true answer is what Republicans have been saying all along, meaningful budget reform and spending reductions," Cogdill (R-Modesto) said in a statement released by his office. "Increasing taxes on hardworking Californians is irresponsible."

State Senate Pro Tem Don PerataThe national convention party for California state senators is cancelled until there's a new state budget, State Sen. Pro Temp Don Perata (D-Oakland) announced Tuesday.

With a budget more than 50 days overdue and other bills still awaiting action, Perata said in a release, the state senate will remain in session through at least the end of the month.

That would affect Democrats planning to attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver, which starts Monday, and could have an impact on Republicans planning to head to St. Paul, Minn., for the Republican National Convention, which begins Sept. 1.

An event last week to help state Sen. Jeff Denham (R-Merced) retire debt from an unsuccessful recall campaign raised more than $65,000, according to a spokesman for Denham's anti-recall campaign.

Kevin Spillane said an August 14 fundraiser in Sacramento raised at least that much, with checks from the event still coming in.

Say what you want about California's powerful state prison guards union but never under estimate they're ability to know the political score in Sacramento.

With a tip of the PolitickerCA.com cap to Josh Richman over at the Oakland Tribune, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association last Friday dropped a whopping $250,000 into the Leadership California committee's accounts, reports filed with the Secretary of State's office show.