Fiscal Cliff Deal Brings Some Relief to California

SACRAMENTO — The deal in Washington to avoid the “fiscal cliff” will bring a reprieve to California’s slowly rebounding economy, but uncertainty remains in part because Congress delayed action on federal spending cuts.
The agreement helps California avoid sliding back into recession, H.D. Palmer, finance spokesman for Gov. Jerry Brown, said Wednesday. But economic forecasters said the two-month delay on the sequestration cuts could lead businesses to delay hiring or investments.
“To the extent that this agreement averts a national recession — and the revenue loss associated with it — then we will have dodged a bullet,” Palmer said a day after Congress reached the deal.