The Gropenfuhrer Giveth...

...and the Gropenfuhrer taketh away...

One of the more controversial budget-balancing moves would be taking $1.3 billion in property taxes from cities and counties. If Schwarzenegger takes the property tax, he would essentially be eliminating some of the same money he just restored to local governments after promising they would be protected.

Last month, in a move the state legislative analyst called possibly illegal, Schwarzenegger shifted $4 billion to cities and counties to restore money they had lost when he reduced the car tax. If approved, Schwarzenegger's $1.3 billion maneuver would not be the first time the state has taken money from local governments. In 1993, then-Gov. Pete Wilson shifted $2.6 billion of local property tax to pay for K-12 schools and community colleges, and local governments say they continue to suffer from that budget-balancing plan.