Arnold blasted budget season
fundraising during the recall campaign, declaring it "inherently
suspect for politicians to be taking money from lobbyists while they
are spending the people’s money."
He even sponsored a bill that would have banned fundraising during budget negotiations.
What, then, is Arnold doing this budget season? Quietly collecting
campaign cash from companies with billion-dollar budget questions on
the table.
One of those questions is a plan to lower corporate taxes by allowing companies to change how the state taxes them. (Read today’s LA Times story)
Among the big players pushing the deal are Cisco, Applied Materials and
Genentech. The gov took $133K from the three in just the last month as
the budget was being negotiated.
Arnold, of course, has to sign or veto any corporate tax break squeezed
into this year’s budget. To avoid the appearance of a quid pro quo
he’ll have to return the money, or veto the plan, if a budget giveaway
to campaign contributors reaches his desk.
