From the new report on the state's cash shortage by the non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office:

"Without additional legislative measures to address the state’s fiscal difficulties or unprecedented amounts of borrowing from the short–term credit markets, the state will not be able to pay many of its bills on time for much of its 2009–10 fiscal year. Deterioration of the state’s economic and revenue picture (such as the $8 billion revenue shortfall we forecasted in March) or failure of measures in the May 19 special election would increase the state’s cash flow pressures substantially—potentially increasing the short–term borrowing requirement to well over $20 billion. California is likely to have difficulty borrowing anywhere close to the needed amounts from the short–term bond markets based on the state government’s own credit."

Last night in LA, I moderated a panel with State Controller John Chiang, Barclays Capital managing director Peter J. Taylor (a public finance expert), and New America senior scholar Mark Paul on California's cash crunch. A report on what was said is here. One message: even if the tentative deal that legislators and the governor appear to have reached in the last 24 hours won't end the cash crunch. The state still has serious cash flow problems, said Chiang, comparing a state with a budget deal to an unemployed person who has suddenly found a job and income -- but still has to deal with the debts and bills he delayed paying while he was unemployed.

Author and longtime Sacramento Bee columnist Peter Schrag shows up in the LA Times with a piece today that, more than anything I've recently read, explains the political dynamics behind the state's cash crunch. Republicans blogs are already attacking it, but Schrag has plenty to say about Democrats too.

The Los Angeles Times praises a bizarre initiative, filed late last month, that would remove the entire legislature (and, in some cases, automatically remove the governor from office) if lawmakers don't pass a budget on time. In the event of a late budget, the governor and the lawmakers would not only be kicked out of office but they would be barred from returning to elected office for two years. There are all kinds of practical problems, but the Times seems to like the blast at the legislature. It's a symptom of the extreme frustration -- and powerlessness -- Californians are feeling as they watch their governor and legislature fiddle as the state runs out of cash.

It's a sign of the anger out there that this initiative is not the first time the notion of firing the whole legislature has come up. There's been persistent conversation among conservatives in California about coming up with some way to dissolve the legislature. But nothing's been filed, and my sources have been unwilling to go on the record.