Bob Williams, President of State Budget Solutions (SBS), a national nonprofit organization advocating for fundamental reform of state budgets, released the following statement regarding Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam's proposed budget, which includes cutting taxes and increasing spending on education and health care.

State Budget Solutions released an open letter to California Governor Jerry Brown regarding his plan to cut $4.8 billion from education if voters did not pass his ballot initiative to raise taxes on rich Californians.  The letter, written by SBS' President Bob Williams, voices SBS' opposition to Gov. Brown's current proposal and offers the assistance of the budget experts at SBS to create a new budget proposal for California.

"Gov. Brown's triggered reductions are the result of a last minute June budget deal and may now serve as political cover while Governor Jerry Brown begins his push for a round of income and sales tax increases. This sorry state of affairs is indicative of business-as-usual in California and provides a basis from which to examine the state's irresponsible budget practices as a whole.

California's current budget process relies heavily on the use of budget gimmicks, especially number shifting and projection altering that can create the illusion of a balanced budget. Due to Gov. Brown's failure to implement a reasonable, rational and responsible budgeting approach, the state will continue to dive deeper into the red.

State Budget Solutions urges Gov. Brown and all of the elected officials in California to create a real budget solution that is not based on gimmicks and illusions. California taxpayers deserve better from their government."