Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters writes, "With the state budget mired in deficits," Gov. Jerry Brown (D) and state legislators "are searching under every fiscal rock for money to spend," adding that one source of funding "could be several billion dollars a year in 'cap-and-trade' fees that industries must pay as part of the state's anti-greenhouse gas crusade." He notes that those funds "could be indirectly captured to offset state budget deficits by allocating them to existing state operations tied to carbon reduction, thus freeing up money for other areas facing cuts, such as health and welfare services."