Aug. 20, 2002

Counting the Days

BY REX HIME The California State Assembly continues to struggle in finding ways to reach agreement on a state budget. The latest attempt by Assembly Democrats was to take off the table the doubling of the vehicle license fee and, instead, increase the tax on cigarettes to $3 a pack. Assembly Republicans killed the proposal - opposed to any tax increase and concerns that the budget proposal does not address the long-term fiscal problems identified by the state legislative analyst's office.