State budget analyst set to release deficit numbers

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Jerry Brown may be vacationing in Arizona this week, but he’s about to get some very bad news from the state’s nonpartisan budget analyst.

The state legislative analyst will release a preliminary analysis of the state’s budget deficit,expected to be at least $12 billion.

The number released by the analyst’s office Wednesday will set the stage for Brown’s first budget. He is constitutionally obligated to release a preliminary state spending plan by Jan. 10.

This year, voters passed a measure that allows a state budget to be passed by a majority vote instead of a two-thirds super-majority. But they also passed laws that limit state lawmakers’ ability to borrow from local governments or raise fees.

--Anthony York in Sacramento