By Chris Megerian, Los Angeles Times

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown has Democrats and Republicans on board with the broad outlines of his plan for stockpiling some cash and paying off debt.

But as the special legislative session Brown called on the issue opened Thursday, it was clear that, as lawmakers like to say, the devil could be in the details.

Republicans, whose votes the Democratic governor needs to place his measure on the fall ballot, want tighter controls on the reserve fund than the governor has proposed. One senator said there might be a loophole in the plan that could help Brown fund the state’s troubled bullet train network — a project most Republicans oppose.

On the other side of the aisle, Senate leader Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, has publicly balked at Brown’s insistence that lawmakers act on his proposal now rather than later this year. Democrats also could hold out for the restoration of more healthcare and social service funds cut during the recession.

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