Governor Jerry Brown vetoes tax break bills

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Brown said he vetoed a package of bills to maintain "fiscal stability and keep the state's budget balanced."

According to Brown, the bills would have created new or expended existing tax breaks totaling over a quarter billion dollars.

"Each of these bills creates a new tax break or expands an existing tax break. In total, these bills would reduce revenues by about $300 million through 2017-18," said Governor Brown in his veto message. "As I said last year, tax breaks are the same as new spending - they both cost the General Fund money. As such, they must be considered during budget deliberations so that all spending proposals are weighed against each other at the same time. This is even more important when the state's budget remains precariously balanced. Therefore, I cannot sign these measures."

In a press release, Brown touted his fiscal record saying in 2011 California faced a $26.6 billion budget deficit -- but through cuts, temporary taxes, and an improving economy, the deficits have been eliminated.