by ADAM BEAM, Associated Press for the San Francisco Chronicle

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Frustrated by years of partisan bickering that often delayed the state budget, California voters in 2010 made a big change to the state’s Constitution: Lawmakers must pass a state spending plan by June 15 or else they forfeit their six-figure salaries.

Since that change — along with another one allowing lawmakers to pass spending plans with fewer votes — California’s budgets have been on time.

But this week, for the second year in a row, the Democratic-dominated Legislature has reached the June 15 deadline without an agreement with Gov. Gavin Newsom. The result is lawmakers on Monday passed a state budget that likely won’t become law in its current form. Instead, it lets lawmakers keep getting paid while giving Democratic leaders more time to negotiate with Newsom ahead of the actual budget deadline: June 30, or the end of the state’s fiscal year.

“This is a fake budget,” Republican state Sen. Jim Nielsen declared Monday during a legislative committee hearing. “It’s a feel-good budget, it’s a let-us-get-paid budget. But what we are voting on is not going to be the budget.”

Click HERE to read the full article from the San Francisco Chronicle

TRiGroups’ Advice: Be patient for a few more weeks as we wait for the final negotiations between the Governor and the Legislature. Until then, prepare your school Board for the likelihood that adjustments to their June budget approvals will likely be coming later in the year. Finally, keep an eye on long-term planning for the implementation of TK for all four-year olds.