After weeks of negotiations,
the governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger
has reached an outline agreement with legislative leaders
on a plan to tackle the state's massive budget shortfall.
The deal, which will have to be approved by the state legislature,
includes plans for billions of dollars in budget cuts,
but no tax rises. Peter Bolger reports.
California has a budget shortfall of 26 billion dollars.
State workers have been put on short time
and many social and education services have been cut.
The state has even resorted
to issuing IOUs to companies it does business with
and to individuals who are owed tax refunds.
Governor Schwarzenegger described the comprised deal
as a basic agreement to close the state's huge deficit.
He and fellow Republicans have refused to raise taxes,
all the opposition Democrats said fought to preserve social services.