Growing worries about another big round of state budget cuts

You might recall that the patchwork budget deal worked out in June was predicated on a set of revenue assumptions that most everyone with a basic knowledge of arithmetic considered overly-optimistic. Should the numbers not meet projections, the state would be forced to make as much as $2.5 billion in cuts to K-12 schools, higher education, public safety and social services. Well, July came in $541 million short of projections, and it's looking as if August might be short as well, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office. So legislation has been introduced that would require the Department of Finance to consult with lawmakers on alternatives to the cuts laid out in the original budget bill. From Capitol Alert:

The bill also makes one concrete change to the trigger cuts: it eliminates the automatic spring $10 per unit fee hike for community college students. Community college advocate Scott Lay said last month that increase posed a logistical challenge for schools, and colleges would rather absorb the $30 million loss than impose a fee hike mid-year. Lawmakers have authority to replace those cuts at any time, but AB X1 20 marks the first official statement that lawmakers may seek to reverse the cuts that Brown demanded they make in the budget act.

Get ready to kick the can.