The California Legislature passed a budget package today that includes $14 billion in budget cuts that will affect crucial social programs. Lawmakers had been at a five-day impasse until Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders agreed to give Republican Senator Abel Maldonado the major changes he demanded in exchange for providing a crucial 27th vote for the state budget.

Gov. Schwarzenegger applauded legislators as having the "courage to stand up and put the needs of Californians first." The 700,000 SEIU members in California have a different viewpoint of the budget plan. "As the people on the frontlines of providing care, we have been vocal about the effects of the budget deal that has emerged this year. We believe that the deal that was arrived at sacrifices our state's future and will cripple our ability to provide the care and services Californians need," writes SEIU CA State Council Director Courtni Pugh of the harsh impact the deal will have on SEIU members and all of California's working families. From Pugh's Capitol Weekly editorial today:

"One of the most troubling aspects of the budget deal to us is the budget cap, which promises to make the cuts permanent by making it virtually impossible to restore them in better times. For SEIU members that translates into year after year of higher caseloads for social workers who help children endangered by neglect or abuse; ongoing cuts to healthcare for families struggling with unemployment or low-wage work; a future of shrinking support for families who have children with autism or cerebral palsy; ongoing cuts to hundreds of state services from parks to oversight of hospitals and nursing homes, and ongoing cuts to home care, higher education, K-12 schools, and other vital public services.

[...] "We expected our legislators to work together and solve our problems. Instead, when they finally worked together, they may end up giving us a cap that will make our problems worse."

This budget fix, which is a combination of tax increases, cuts and borrowing, will hurt the majority of Californians. It is the consequence of two main things: the state's disastrous budget crisis and the structure of the budget process---a broken process that needs to changed.

California Democratic Party chair hopeful John Burton says it right here: "If the last 48 hours has proven nothing else, we can no longer allow Republicans to hold the people of California hostage and therefore dictate to the Democratic majority the terms under which the budget is passed. California should join the 47 other states who don't require a supermajority to pass the budget."

SEIU Local 1000's Channel 1000 News breaks down the budget package and next steps for moving the process along in their Thursday edition (which also takes a look at the Healthcare and Professional Development provisions in the new tentative agreement for 95,000 California state workers). Watch it here.

For highlights of plan to close Calif. budget deficit, click here.