California budget beset by problems

SACRAMENTO, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is facing a growing number of problems preparing his state's budget due to previous deals he approved.

Due to a number of agreements Schwarzenegger approved to benefit the state earlier in his tenure as governor, he now is beset with an expanding state deficit that could surpass $10 billion, the Los Angeles Times said Saturday.

Former Santa Barbara councilwoman Hannah-Beth Jackson said Schwarzenegger's prior deals, along with various state constitutional prohibitions he championed, have left California in a serious financial predicament.

"We have just tightened the noose around our neck instead of figuring out how to get out of the noose in the first place," Jackson said. "We have all these spending requirements, and they end up working against each other. We can't take from this, we can't take from that; we've become immobilized."

The governor's budget chief, Mike Genest, has defended Schwarzenegger's decisions, saying they were necessary at the time despite the future problems they created.

"The governor made these deals fully aware that the day would come when some of us would say we wish we had more options," Genest told the Times.