Sinking feeling over state budget - the Record

Everybody knew it was a wink-and-nod budget. And that means everybody, from Gov. Jerry Brown who signed it and the lawmakers who cobbled it together to local officials who depend on state money for their programs to parents who see their children in larger classes. But it could get worse, and we'd better be prepared. In September, California again missed its pie-in-the-sky revenue target: $301.6 million under the mark. For the first three months of the fiscal year, the state has fallen $705.5 million below what state leaders expected at this point. That's because under budget rules adopted this year, if tax revenue falls short of assumptions, additional cuts will be triggered in December. If revenue falls short by more than $1 billion, it triggers about $600 million in additional cuts, including $100 million each to University of California, California State University and the Department of Developmental Services.