Battle Over $25B Calif. Budget Cuts is Keeping Litigators Busy
Unhappy about brutal budget cuts being made to help California eliminate a $25 billion deficit, officials are turning to the ultimate lobbying powerhouse. Litigators.
Droves of lawyers are being brought in by state-funded entities and California officials fighting to keep their full piece of the financial pie, reports the Los Angeles Times. Even state Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) announced on Friday that he plans to sue over the budget he negotiated, because, he contends, the governor illegally made additional cuts to the spending plan approved by lawmakers.
“We are seeing more lawsuits and more victories by the groups filing them,” says former Assembly speaker Bob Hertzberg, who now chairs the California Forward budgeting think tank. “They don’t want to compromise. … It’s easier to hire lawyers than lobbyists, and you probably get better outcomes.