A $214.8 billion budget approved Thursday by California lawmakers would upgrade the state's aging 911 system following the most devastating wildfire season in state history and help middle class families pay their monthly health insurance premiums.
To fund those changes, however, lawmakers want to impose a new monthly fee on phone bills and tax people who refuse to buy private health insurance, even though the state has a projected $21.5 billion surplus, the largest in at least 20 years.
Republican Assemblyman Jay Obernolte, vice chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee, said it's "unconscionable" to ask taxpayers to fund the 911 upgrades when there is such a large surplus.
Democrats, who have super majorities in both houses of the Legislature, counter that they don't want to use the surplus to pay for ongoing expenses, something previous Legislatures were eager to do and led to multi-billion dollar budget deficits when the economy soured.