FIRST BUDGET DEADLINE TODAY LAWMAKERS STILL DISAGREE ON CUTS TO HIGHER EDUCATION.

Byline: David M. Drucker Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO - With Democrats fighting cuts to higher education, the legislative committee reviewing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget ground to a halt Monday - one day before today's constitutional deadline for lawmakers to pass next year's spending plan.

The panel canceled its scheduled Monday meeting while Democratic leaders drafted a counterproposal to the deal Schwarzenegger reached with California's two university systems in early May.

The University of California and California State University would see their funding increase in future years in exchange for accepting $680 million in cuts next year through enrollment caps, reduced money for outreach programs, tuition hikes and other cost-cutting measures.

Democratic leaders say they expect differences with the administration on higher-education funding and other issues to be resolved in time for the Republican governor to meet his goal of signing the 2004-05 budget before the new fiscal year starts July 1.

``June 15 has always been sort of a practical deadline, and if we go much past that it begins to make it harder to meet the (June 30) budget deadline,'' said Budget Conference Committee Co-Chairman Sen. Wesley Chesbro, D-Arcata. ``But I think that after last week's activities all parties including the governor agreed that the 15th had become an unrealistic day.''

The Assembly-Senate Budget Conference Committee did not meet Friday because Schwarzenegger gave state employees the day off because of the funeral of former President Ronald Reagan. The committee was tentatively scheduled to convene Sunday afternoon, but Chesbro decided against it.

As Democrats drafted their counterproposal on education, Republican legislators groused that two weeks before the July 1 start of the new fiscal year was too late to rewrite Schwarzenegger's higher-education compact with the UC and CSU systems.

The conference committee could resume its work on short notice as soon as Chesbro calls a meeting.

Republicans said suspending the conference committee's work so near the deadline was a mistake that could jeopardize Schwarzenegger's ability to deliver an on-time budget, and complained Democrats are still practicing the kind of budgeting that led to the massive deficits and fiscal malaise taxpayers are still paying for.

``The delays on getting the conference committee together are a little bit disconcerting for me given the fact that we have a deadline coming up (today),'' said committee member Assemblyman Rick Keene, R-Chico. ``I think we need a budget done on time. I think that is a piece of restoring the faith of people in this institution and also that we have a functional government here.''

Schwarzenegger has yet to schedule any public events designed to put public pressure on lawmakers. He has met and continues to meet privately with individual Democratic and Republican legislators, but has yet to convene a formal ``Big Five'' meeting of himself and the four leaders of the Senate and Assembly.

H.D. Palmer, the governor's chief budget spokesman, complimented the ``civil and orderly'' tone that has characterized this year's budget deliberations.

But he said the governor is committed to his higher-education pact and indicated that the Democrat-dominated conference committee's decision to add a number of items - totaling $4.2 billion in spending so far - into Schwarzenegger's final budget proposal would result in deficit spending.

``When you account for their unachievable solutions, their budget is below sea level by about $3.235 billion.''

David M. Drucker, [phone]

david.drucker(at)dailybulletin.com