Governor to sign budget in Southern California

Governor Jerry Brown will join Assembly Speaker Toni G. Atkins and Senate President pro tem Darrell Steinberg Friday in San Diego to sign the 2014-15 state budget.

The legislature voted on the bill hours before the deadline Sunday. It pays down debt, deals with the teachers’ pension system and builds a Rainy Day Fund.

Gov. Brown scored a big win for the $68 billion high-speed rail project this week by persuading fellow Democrats to dedicate a steady future funding source for it in the state budget.

That means work could start on new parts of the project, such as a segment connecting northern Los Angeles County to Burbank.

Moving swiftly to beat the midnight deadline, the state Legislature on Sunday approved California’s $108 billion general fund spending plan for the coming fiscal year.

The legislation, SB852, passed 55-24 in the Assembly and 25-11 in the Senate, mostly along partisan lines.

Governor Brown will travel to Los Angeles Friday where he will join members of the California Latino Legislative Caucus for a community celebration in recognition of legislation signed last year to help workers and immigrants in California.