Last-Minute Solar Tax Break Passes in Budget Surprise

The new state budget sitting on Gov. Brown's desk includes a tax break slipped in with no public review. The story of the surprise solar tax exemption is one that longtime state budget watchers know all too well: the ability of influential groups to inject last-minute items into the annual spending plan during a time where the full vetting of the proposal is often overshadowed by the constitutional deadline for fast action.