Only $19.1B in the Red, Cali's Democrat Legislators Concentrate on the Important Stuff, Like Passing Laws That Protect Celebs From Paparazzi

As California's Democrat legislature dithers, its borrowing costs keep rising. The decreased market for its debt reflects worries about its ability to enact a real budget, which is months behind schedule and already $19.1 billion in the hole.

The extra yield investors demand on 10-year California bonds rose to 124 basis points above AAA rated municipal securities yesterday, up 14 percent in a week, Bloomberg Fair Value Index data show. The increase comes as the state will need to borrow as much as $10 billion in short-term notes within four weeks of any budget agreement and more than $6 billion in longer-dated bonds by December for public-works projects.

California hasn’t had a budget since the fiscal year began on July 1... The state may need to issue IOUs to pay bills by next month and Standard & Poor’s has said it may cut California’s A- rating, already the lowest among states.

What is the Democrat-dominated legislature actually doing instead of passing a budget? The Mercury News reports upon the eclectic genius of the left coast Democrats. Among the amendments they've proposed:

• Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, SB 722, which would have required utilities to generate 33 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

• A bill to end an injustice to low-income and minority children in public schools also failed, and the reason here is even more embarrassing: Assembly leaders refused to stand up to teachers unions.

• Similarly, massive lobbying by the banking industry killed SB 1275, which offered a small but important bit of protection to homeowners: forcing banks to finish determining whether borrowers qualify for a loan modification before foreclosing.

• But wait. Perhaps we're wrong. One critical protection was indeed given the red-carpet treatment in this session: a law penalizing paparazzi for hassling celebrities.

There has got to be something in the water in California. Like some left-over acid from Timothy Leary's hidden stash.