Out California Assemblyman John Laird will chair a special session budget committee that will address the state’s worsening fiscal crisis. Laird, who is approaching the end of his final term in the Assembly, must deal with a state deficit estimated at $13 billion for the fiscal year 2009-2010.

The Valley Post reports:

Laird and his fellow lawmakers only have until Nov. 30, when the session officially ends and Laird is termed out of office. Bill Monning won the 27th District seat to succeed Laird.

“The Legislature faces a monumental task in closing the projected $28 billion budget shortfall. The administration has put forth a credible plan that can serve as a starting point for deliberations. If the Legislature has any hope of developing a fiscally responsible 2009–10 budget, it must begin laying the groundwork now,” the Analyst’s Office wrote.

Like last year, the state’s analyst and the governor want to cut programs and raise taxes in the current fiscal year that ends on June 30. This way, next year’s budget will not be as difficult to balance.