In an effort to get the California budget back on track, newly elected Governor Jerry Brown has ordered officials to stop purchasing new cars. As most of them sit unused in state own parking lots and garages anyways, so Brown may just have a point. The new governor has a lot of work ahead of him as California has a $25 billion deficit. He has already been criticized for extending tax hikes, but if California residents want to improve their quality of living they are going to have to pay for it.
State agencies that are in charge of purchasing new vehicles often get price reductions because they purchase cars in bulk. Some of them even sign contracts that stipulate that a group of new vehicles are to be purchased every year even if they do not really need them. When the economy was stable and California was able to collect enough money in taxes to keep the budget balanced, new cars were purchased and older ones were auctioned off at a steal on a regular basis. Officials from the housing authority, school board, transportation office and highway and safety department are loaned vehicles so that they can drive to their destinations. Once considered a necessity, many states are slashing their budget and doing away with their employee vehicles altogether. Large trucks that are used in weather emergencies will not be auctioned off, but over 15,000 state own vehicles are expected to go on the auction block in the next few months.
