California's budget impasse is threatening to force the shutdown of many health care services across the state if a deal is not struck soon, it was reported on Saturday.
Saturday marks the 68th day California's budget has been past the due date of June 30, breaking the previous record of 67 days set six years ago.
Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democratic-controlled Legislature have been unable to agree on a budget that closes a 17.2-billion-dollar gap.
Without a budget, hospitals, clinics and homes for disabled residents that rely on state funds to operate will have lost as much as 5.4 billion dollars in state funds by the end of this month as state payments for most of them ended in July, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Many service providers, who gathered Friday outside the Capitol of Sacramento, said they've already received loans, maxed out their credit cards and even poured in personal funds to keep their centers open -- and they are running out of time, money and options.
The governor's budget proposal, which includes a temporary, 1-cent increase in the sales tax followed by a permanent cut, got a boost Friday with an endorsement from the California Taxpayers Association.
But members of his own party in the legislature oppose any tax hike whatsoever.
A Republican proposal to release emergency funds to service providers has been rejected by Republican Schwarzenegger as fiscally irresponsible. He said it would precipitate a cash crisis, emptying state coffers of billions of dollars at a time when reserves are low and the usual bridge loans can't be accessed because there is no spending plan.
His spokeswoman maintained Friday that Schwarzenegger wants to enact a budget, not borrow more money for the short term.
Source: Xinhua
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