Less than three weeks after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger made a massive public works proposal the centerpiece of his 2006 State of the State speech, the debate over specific parts of the proposal begins tomorrow.

The governor’s $222 billion “Strategic Growth Plan” hinges on a $68 billion package of bond proposals. Those bond proposals will be one of the key issues examined in the weeks to come by various legislative committees.

A long list of the governor’s proposals will get their first hearing tomorrow in the Capitol. That list includes SB 1163 (Ackerman), the governor’s proposal on infrastructure and courts; SB 1165 (Dutton), the governor’s proposal on transportation; and SB 1166 (Aanestad), the governor’s proposal on water and flood protection. Meantime, the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, & Wildlife is scheduled to take up the issue of bonds for flood management needs.

According to schedules distributed by the leadership of both chambers, the hearings will continue this week, next week, and likely beyond that. It’s important to note that many of the proposals are going to policy committees first, and then on to a special conference committee being convened on these issues.

The major questions to be answered are somewhat obvious: on what needs will the bonds focus (some Democrats want, for example, to include the issue of affordable housing)? What additional policy issues will be attached to the package (many Republicans want policy changes related to issues like how projects are designed and built, and changes to the landmark California Environmental Quality Act)? And how fast can all of this be done? The deadline for bond proposals on the June 6 ballot now appears to be near the middle of March.