John Chiang

SACRAMENTO - Like many pols in the State Capitol, Tuesday's signing of a state budget was a signal to dog pile on the Golden State's new financial blue print - a document that no one on either side of the aisle likes very much -- State Controller John Chiang included.

In a press statement Chiang had this to say about the new budget:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and much of the state's Democratic Congressional delegation are winners after scoring speaking roles in Denver this week, while the governor's inability to pass a budget earns him one of the spots on the loser list. Find out who else made this week's Winners & Losers. | CLICK HERE

Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo took Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to task Tuesday for the lack of a state budget, saying the city is being affected because of the number of state workers who live in Sacramento.

Fargo joined with Jim Madaffer, president of the League of California Cities, in a letter to Schwarzenegger that also warned that any budget plan should leave city monies alone.

Below is a transcript of remarks made by State Comptroller John Chiang (D) at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday evening, as prepared for delivery.

Below is a list of notable Californians scheduled to speak at the Democratic National Committee on Tuesday. All times are local to Denver (MDT).

DENVER -- Call it Sacramento on the Platte instead.

During the massive California delegation's first breakfast meeting in Denver, the rancor over the Golden State's way overdue budget surfaced shortly after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was cheered to the podium by a capacity crowd of delegates.

A possible court order to seize $8 billion for prison health care construction costs in California got negative responses from Republicans and Democrats Wednesday.

State Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines (R-Clovis) said the move amounted to an end-around on normal state budgeting, while Controller John Chiang, a Democrat, said doing so would violate his office's ability to operate legally.

More PolitickerCA.com coverage: Suit filed against John Chiang over executive order

State Controller John Chiang criticized a suit filed against him Monday by the California Department of Personnel Administration, saying the move was over a fictional problem invented by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"The Governor based his executive order to cut employees' salaries to the federal minimum wage on a faulty premise that it would improve the amount of cash we will need next month to pay our bills," said Chiang, a Democrat elected in 2006, in a statement. "This is nothing more than false posturing because the State ended July with $5 billion more than the Governor's May projections."

The California Department of Personnel Administration confirmed that the agency has filed suit against state Controller John Chiang over his refusal so far to comply with an executive order issued by Gov.  Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The suit, filed Monday afternoon in Sacramento County Superior Court, asks Chiang to follow the order under a 2003 court ruling, White v. Davis, over the same topic.