Gov. Brown to take tax measure to voters

SACRAMENTO, April 1 (UPI) -- California Gov. Jerry Brown says he will take his appeal for more taxes to the people after budget negotiations in the legislature broke down this week.

Following the collapse of budget talks with Republican lawmakers, Brown said it was time take his message directly to the voters with trips to parts of the state, including a number of Republican districts, he has not visited since his election.

"I'm not going to have these private meetings with the Republicans, because they have no one thing they want," Brown told the Los Angeles Times in an interview Thursday. "And to tell you the truth, they're not sure what they want."

He repeated his commitment to letting voters have their say on a measure to extend billions of dollars in temporary tax hikes to balance the budget.

The budget would have "no taxes without a vote of the people," he said.

Education, public safety and other areas would suffer further cutbacks if the taxes, which expire July 1, are not extended, he said.

Unable to secure the votes in the Legislature to put the tax issue on a statewide ballot, Brown called off budget talks this week.