Brown ditches special election, seeks new budget

Gov. Jerry Brown has abandoned his plan for a special election this year to ask voters to extend temporary tax hikes as a way to help close California's budget deficit.

Instead, he and Democratic legislative leaders announced a budget deal Monday that makes deep cuts to programs and relies on an assumption that revenue will climb $4 billion more than expected.

Another $2.6 billion in cuts to schools and other programs would be triggered if the extra revenue fails to materialize.

Few other details were released during a brief news conference with Brown and the Democratic Senate and Assembly leaders.

The Democratic governor failed to reach a deal with GOP lawmakers after six months. Democrats now say they will instead try to put taxes on the ballot in November 2012.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.