BUDGET FORMAT ALSO SAVES TREES.Byline: David M. Drucker Sacramento Bureau SACRAMENTO - Urging Californians to test their computer skills, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2005-06 budget proposal has been redesigned to be more constituent-friendly in a paperless format that will be available only online and via CD-ROM CD-ROM: see compact disc. CD-ROM in full compact disc read-only memory Type of computer storage medium that is read optically (e.g., by a laser). . Typically laid out in a format familiar to government bureaucrats and to reporters but often confusing to the average Californian, Schwarzenegger hired an Internet consulting firm Noun 1. consulting firm - a firm of experts providing professional advice to an organization for a fee consulting company business firm, firm, house - the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments; "he worked for a to revamp re·vamp tr.v. re·vamped, re·vamp·ing, re·vamps 1. To patch up or restore; renovate. 2. To revise or reconstruct (a manuscript, for example). 3. To vamp (a shoe) anew. n. the presentation of his spending plan - due before the Legislature in early January - so as to make it more accessible. ``Whether you're on your personal computer at home or in the library, you'll be able to get that much more information out of this document,'' Schwarzenegger's chief budget spokesman H.D. Palmer said Monday. The governor is also following through with a pledge he made to stop offering the budget in printed form - usually a phone-book size volume. The administration will continue to print a pocket-size spiral-bound booklet that summarizes the governor's spending plan. The paperless budget will save taxpayers an estimated $114,000 this year, and about $400,000 annually beginning in fiscal year 2006-07. The state is actually saving $600,000 this year on printing and typesetting typesetting: see printing. typesetting Setting of type for use in any of various printing processes. Type for printing, using woodblocks, was invented in China in the 11th century, and movable type using metal molds had appeared in Korea by the 13th costs, but paying $470,000 - plus additional money for other incidental Contingent upon or pertaining to something that is more important; that which is necessary, appertaining to, or depending upon another known as the principal. Under Workers' Compensation statutes, a risk is deemed incidental to employment when it is related to whatever a costs - to a consultant to redesign how the information is accessed. California's budget, including the general and special funds, has been running an average of $100 billion annually in recent years. It has been the source of most of Sacramento's political tension, a trend many analysts say will continue next year. But Schwarzenegger's move to make the document more voter-friendly was well-received by groups on both sides of the political divide, as was his decision to go paperless. ``We see this as a positive,'' said Bill Allayaud, director of Sierra Club Sierra Club, national organization in the United States dedicated to the preservation and expansion of the world's parks, wildlife, and wilderness areas. Founded (1892) in California by a group led by the Scottish-American conservationist John Muir, the Sierra Club of California. Allayaud said producing a paperless budget would save both trees and the energy required in past years to print the document. ``You get a two-fer there.'' John Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association helped sponsor Proposition 13, the property tax-cutting initiative in California in 1978 which slashed property taxes by fifty-seven percent and initiated a national tax revolt. It was founded by California republican Howard Jarvis. , also lauded the move, saying it would save the state money and help lead to a more efficient and transparent government. ``We like it,'' he said. ``I don't see this as an impediment A disability or obstruction that prevents an individual from entering into a contract. Infancy, for example, is an impediment in making certain contracts. Impediments to marriage include such factors as consanguinity between the parties or an earlier marriage that is still valid. to anybody finding out what's really in the budget.'' David M. Drucker, (916) 442-5096 david.drucker(at)dailybulletin.com |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion