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Governor Brown Prepares State Of The State Address

LOS ANGELES (KNX 1070) — As he prepares his State of the State address to be delivered Wednesday, Governor Jerry Brown finds himself on the defensive over a number of issues.

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His proposed budget cuts to education, the courts, fire protection and social services are being criticized by some who say the governor is making a threat of cutting those services if voters don't approve his tax hikes this fall.

Brown rejected that criticism.

"All you have to do is look at the budget and you'll find out that we're gonna spend the money that we have. And if the voters will give some more money by way of a tax for five years, we can spend more. If they decide to say 'no' on that tax, then we won't have several billion dollars. So it's not really what I want, it's really what the people want," said Brown as he answered questions after a weekend prayer breakfast in South Los Angeles.

And as for his proposed $25 billion for the high speed train which critics say is an effort to pay for union jobs for his supporters, the governor said he's just carrying on a project put forth by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"Because it is a project that will link north and south. That will create hundreds of thousands of jobs," he added.

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