SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared California in a fiscal crisis Thursday and invoked emergency powers so he could impose $150 million in spending cuts without the Legislature’s approval.
"I was elected by the people of this state to lead. Since the legislative leadership refuses to act, I will act without them," Schwarzenegger said in announcing the decision.
The cuts, expected to come largely from social service programs, free up money for city and county governments that have lost more than $300 million since the governor voided an unpopular tripling of the state’s car tax.
Among the cuts announced so far are a .5 percent drop in support for the University of California and California State University systems, closing a migrant farmworker housing center and decreased funding for the Department of Motor Vehicles. Schwarzenegger had proposed suspending a civil rights measure that guarantees care for the disabled to save money but changed his mind.
In all, he plans to cut about $150 million in spending by the time the emergency powers expire on June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
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