State 12-4

Just hours after the new Legislature was sworn into office on 12/1, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger put its members to work, declaring a fiscal emergency. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, in response, said it was up to the governor to work with his fellow Republicans on reaching a compromise to get enough votes to pass a budget. The state’s coffers are hurting, with an estimated $28 billion gap leaving lawmakers little option but to cut state programs.