Capping the lengthiest legislative session in state history, the Assembly on Tuesday approved a $100 billion spending plan and sent it to Gov. Gray Davis.

In a case of partisan role reversal, the agreement emerged only after a final round of deal-making in which Democrats agreed to Republican demands for about $300 million in extra spending.

Two holdout Democrats also came on board in the final minutes of the session after leaders promised them support for a tax equalization bill that would bring their counties a total of $5 million, Democratic leaders said.

While the new plan closes a $38.2 billion shortfall through a combination of borrowing, tax shifts, fees and spending cuts, lawmakers acknowledged it will also leave California with an $8 billion gap between income and spending in the next fiscal year.
"Make no mistake, this is a budget that will, in fact, hurt people," said Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson, D-Culver City, who kept sleep-deprived lawmakers in the building all night, refusing to let them leave without a deal.

"This is a budget that will create an $8 billion problem next year and probably create a lot of heartburn and heartache for all of us. But California needs a budget."

The Assembly then adjourned for a summer recess, setting its return for Aug. 18. Davis planned to sign the spending plan by week's end.

The Democratic governor welcomed the month-late budget, which avoids a sales tax increase advocated by Democrats but relies on a previously announced tripling of annual vehicle license fees, as he prepares to face California's first-ever recall of a statewide officeholder.

Recall proponents have focused their case against him on the state's fiscal problems. And a recent Field Poll found that some voters who support the recall were willing to change their minds if state lawmakers ended their budget standoff quickly.

"I'm not comfortable saying the impact it has on any election coming up," Davis said moments after the 56-22 vote, "but clearly you can't say we have a $38 billion problem anymore. We have a much smaller problem."

In the end, the budget won the support of 45 Democrats and 11 Republicans. Wesson had insisted on getting as many GOP votes as possible because, as he put it, "This was a Republican budget. I wanted them to claim ownership."

Democrats Lou Correa of Anaheim and Lois Wolk of Davis were "no" votes when roll calls were taken shortly after midnight and again at 9:16 a.m.

But both voted "yes" during the final tally at 3:12 p.m. after Darrell Steinberg, a Sacramento Democrat at the center of negotiations to the end, agreed to support a county tax equalization bill that would bring their counties a total of about $5 million.

That left Assemblyman John Dutra of Fremont as the only Democrat voting against the budget.

Assembly Republican leader Dave Cox of Fair Oaks echoed earlier comments from leaders in the Senate about the shortcomings of the deal but acknowledged "a certain feeling of relief" that it was done.

"There are a lot of things we don't like in it," Cox said. "But in the final analysis, it's a budget that did not increase new taxes."

Democrats likewise claimed some measure of satisfaction because social programs were not cut as deeply as they once feared.

Numerous fees charged to taxpayers will rise under the deal, however, and their precise amount will be set in legislation the two houses will try to work out next month.

The vehicle license fee increase was triggered in June by the Davis administration. California drivers whose vehicle registration expires on Oct. 1 and thereafter will pay triple the fees drivers now pay, or an average of $160 more per car.

The budget bill that now goes to Davis leaves intact deep cuts to higher education already approved by the Senate. Those cuts will raise community college fees from $11 to $18 per credit.

The budget also is anchored by a substantial amount of borrowing, including the sale of $10.7 billion in deficit bonds to finance a portion of the shortfall over the next five years.

Legislators also assume nearly $1 billion in reduced payroll costs yet to be worked out between the Davis administration and public employee unions. If those costs aren't reduced through collective bargaining, the administration has said that as many as 15,000 state employees -- most of them in Sacramento -- could be laid off.

To negotiate the final pieces of the deal, Cox said Republicans began approaching Wesson with proposals sometime after the after-midnight roll call came up nine votes short.

In all, they succeeded in winning about $300 million for local governments, public safety, K-12 education and farmers.

After Democrats agreed to adding the money, Cox said the debate was over.

"My colleagues on my side of the aisle finally came to the conclusion that we had won," he said. "We declared victory and said it's time to go home."

Steinberg, chairman of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, found it amusing the deal didn't come together until Democrats agreed to GOP demands for more spending.

"It's really ironic that after six months debating and making the case for revenues as a way to avoid cuts in education and health care ... the budget closed by our acceding to some Republican members' request for additional spending," he said.

Although this year's budget agreement was reached a full month earlier than last year, Wesson's decision to "lock down" the chambers -- anyone who tried to leave could be arrested by the sergeant at arms -- made these final negotiations unique.

The Assembly, which was in session 29 hours and 28 minutes, eclipsed the old record of 26 1/2 hours at 2:30 p.m. The earlier record dates back to July 1963, when then-Speaker Jesse Unruh refused to adjourn until agreement was reached on a budget.

For much of the past day, the Assembly resembled an ornate train station filled with passengers waiting for a way out of town.

There was sporadic debate, but only three roll call votes. As the night wore on, lawmakers filed in and out of the members' lounges, taking turns napping on couches.

At one point, shortly after 11 p.m., photographers snapped pictures of four Assembly members puffing cigars and sipping scotch from paper cups. The incident caused a stir among some legislators, who worried it would appear they weren't taking the budget seriously.