Deadline passes without budget, negotiations slow

California's June 15th budget deadline came and went without a solution for the state's $18.6 billion deficit, and Sacramento politicians are still far from agreement on how to close the gap. In fact, many lawmakers have not made summer vacation plans in preparation for a summer-long battle over how to balance the state's budget.

To make matters worse, the U.S. Senate voted down a $140 billion recovery package on Wednesday that would have sent $1.8 billion in budget aid to California. Republicans and a few defecting Democrats were concerned that the bill would drive up the federal deficit.

Moreover, few Washington politicians see the state's budget issues as their problem.

"Deficits that are made in California should stay in California," said Republican Rep. Tom McClintock of California's 4th District.

California had already included the money in its budgeting.

State Controller John Chiang has implored legislators to tackle the budget quickly, warning that the state would be forced to begin issuing IOUs - as it did last year - if a solution is not in place by August.

A quick fix, though, does not seem to be in the cards.

Legislative Republicans and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger are united in their opposition to levying any new fees or taxes. Instead, they are proposing deep cuts to the state's expenditures.

Democrats, on the other hand, have vowed to protect vital health and human service programs that the governor would like slashed. The party leadership, however, is divided on how to generate the revenues required to retain the programs.

When the state resorted to IOUs to pay its expenses last year, the public works and procurement sector was severely impacted. To conserve money, the state froze financing on thousands of projects and suspended payments to contractors and vendors.

To locate and contact your legislative representatives, visit:
www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html

For the latest California budget news, visit the DBE GoodFaith Blog.

Bills aim to boost small business procurement, recovery

Two bills aimed at increasing small business participation on state contracts and California's economic recovery are moving their way through the state's Senate.

The first, SB 1108, mandates the establishment and robust enforcement of small business goals by the Department of General Services (DGS). If enacted, the DGS would be charged with:

• Directing all state agencies and departments to establish a 25 percent small business annual participation goal;

• Monitoring agencies and departments' progress toward meeting the participation goal;

• Requiring the submission and implementation of a "corrective action plan" by agencies and departments failing to meet the participation goal; and

• Undertaking "reasonable means" to help agencies improve their small business participation.

The bill would go into effect on or after July 1, 2011.

The other, SB 967, seeks to keep American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) dollars stay in the state. Under the measure, a company bidding on an ARRA project will be eligible to receive a 5 percent credit on the bid price or quote when the business "directly provides the goods or
services" and "90% of the employees of the business performing work on the contract reside in the state."

To read SB 1108, visit:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?
bill_number=sb_1108&sess=CUR&house=B&author=price

To read SB 967, visit:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?
bill_number=sb_967&sess=CUR&house=B&author=correa

Let us help with your 'GFE'

Since its start in 2005, DBE GoodFaith Inc. has become a leader in disadvantaged business outreach, having helped over 1,110 firms meet contracts' outreach  requirements on more than 6,000 contract bids.

With DBE GoodFaith's intuitive outreach service, disadvantaged businesses (DBEs, M/WBEs, DVBEs, SBEs, etc.) can be targeted to receive subcontracting and supplier opportunities for your contract. Our system allows users to:

• Place DBE outreach ads online;

• Automatically fax and email invitations to bid to DBE subcontractors of the users choice;

• Complete initial phone call solicitations with the help of DBE GoodFaith's call center; and

• Automatically document all outreach performed.

For more information on how DBE GoodFaith can help your business, contact a representative at (877) 802-3394 or visit www.dbegoodfaith.com.

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