Walters: California’s budget process has once again become secretive and needs reform

Walters: California’s budget process has once again become secretive and needs reform

A minor miracle occurred in the California Capitol 50 years ago this month when a bipartisan majority of state senators refused to accept a pork-laden budget that was drafted in secret by two powerful legislators. It’s a tale worth retelling because the current budget is also being written in secrecy. The process needs another shakeup. In those days, the accepted practice was for the chairmen of the Legislature’s two budget committees to write t…