Despite intense negotiations between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders from both parties, efforts to place a massive bond measure for schools, transportation, and other infrastructure on the June 6 ballot came to an abrupt end late on Wednesday night, March 15.
Although the Assembly passed bond measures for school facilities and levee repairs, the Senate did not approve that legislation. In fact, that same evening the state Senate closed up shop after it became apparent that the governor could not persuade even a single Republican senator to support the Assembly compromise proposals or anything close to them.
The Assembly plan would have asked voters to approve $23.1 billion in bonds in June. The major portion of the funding -- $19.2 billion -- would have gone for school construction and repair. The other $4.1 billion would have been set aside for levee repairs.
Before the Senate closed its doors for the night, that house was able to approve only a $1 billion spending bill to provide emergency repairs to the state's flood control system.
The battle over the bonds began much earlier in the year. During Gov. Schwarzenegger's state of the state address in January, he called for an infrastructure investment of $222 billion, including bond measures worth about $65 billion, to help California build new schools, address transportation needs, and rebuild other of the state's hard assets.
The governor's inability to secure Republican support for his plan doomed it; that became abundantly clear as the midnight hour neared on March 15.
Despite the setback, the governor convened a news conference the next day. That Thursday morning, he told reporters he was confident that lawmakers would approve a large bond measure in time for the November general election.
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The negotiations around the bond measures reached a frenetic pace as the official and then the back-up deadlines for approval of the bond measure came and went.
Secretary of State Bruce McPherson told the governor and lawmakers that unless they passed a measure by Friday, March 10, he could not guarantee that information and ballot materials would reach voters in time. The real crunch came when a spokesperson for the Department of General Services - which would be involved in printing and distributing the ballot pamphlets - made it clear that midnight on Wednesday, March 15, was a final "drop-dead" date.
During the long weeks of negotiations, both Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) told reporters that making sure any approved bond package reflects Californians' priorities - including more funding for school facilities - would be key to their approval of a final proposal.