"MOSTLY POSITIVE" REACTION; LAWMAKERS RESPOND TO "STATE OF THE STATE"

SACRAMENTO, CA -- The Golden State was watching on Thursday.
 
Governor Jerry Brown can now claim something many Governors can't -- a balanced budget.
 
This comes after two years of budget deficits and billions of dollars in spending cuts.
 
In his annual "State Of The State" address, Brown thanked voters for passing Proposition 30. The tax measure, passed in November, raises the state's sales tax for the next seven years.
 
"We have promises to keep," said Governor Brown.
 
"The most important is the one we made to the voters if Proposition 30 passed, that we would guard jealously the money temporarily made available. This means living within our means and not spending what we don’t have. Fiscal discipline is not the enemy of our good intentions but the basis for realizing them. It is cruel to lead people on by expanding good programs, only to cut them back when the funding disappears.”
 
The Governor also talked about education, health care, and jobs, as he vowed to move forward with a proposed high-speed rail project.
 
Brown earned mostly praise from both Democrats and Republicans, including from our own North Coast Assemblymember.
 
Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro has been through these addresses before -- 13 of them to be exact -- and he took a positive message out of today's speech.
 
Chesbro says he's pleased with the Governor's focus on implementing the Affordable Care Act, and applauds Brown's urge for financial restraint.
 
"Overall I'm very supportive. Over the next few months we'll be digging in with hundreds of hearings, and digging into the details of his budget. But, on the broad basis, I think he's on the right track," said Chesbro.
 
Reports show Republicans took issue with some of the Governor’s spending plans -- particularly the high-speed rail -- and said they would have liked to hear more proposals for creating jobs.
 
However, many say he sounded like “one of them” with his call for fiscal responsibility.