Governor pushes reform

No big surprises in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's last State of the State address. He proposed changes to the state's budget, pension and tax systems, as well as a greater share of federal funding for California. From the LAT:

Schwarzenegger's initiatives are certain to be difficult given that he and lawmakers face another $20-billion deficit -- similar to the one that took months to close last year -- and that they already have cut drastically many state programs. The governor told them today that he would refuse to again cut education, which has lost billions in the last two years. At the same time, Schwarzenegger suggested a constitutional amendment -- the third ballot measure he would be supporting in a single year -- to reverse the ratio under which California now spends 11% of its budget on prisons and 7.5% on higher education.

Schwarzenegger's remarks run about 30 minutes. Speech is available through the California Channel.