This Year's California State Budget: Second in a Series of Essays by Sheila Kuehl--Cuts and Non-budget Demands by Republican Senators

Requested Cuts by the Republican Caucus: Homeless Mentally Ill Programs

These funds had been proposed for cuts in the Governor’s original budget. Over the Spring deliberations by the sub-committees, the Democrats reinstated the money and it was contained in the budget voted on by both parties in the Assembly. The Senate Democratic caucus refused to agree with the Republicans on this cut, arguing that California taxpayers save $2 for every $1 spent on this program. The average cost of this program is $12,000 annually, compared to the $41,000 it costs annually to keep someone in prison. Statistics show this population is one of the highest at risk for entering prison. Funding the program means a 56 percent reduction in the number of days hospitalized and a 72 percent reduction in the number of days incarcerated.

Requested Cuts by the Republican Caucus: CalWorks, Foster Children and Seniors

The Republican caucus also wanted to eliminate funds for children whose parents had exceeded the time allowed to receive CalWorks assistance (which parents only get if they’re working or in approved training programs); cut the rates for foster care families and transitional housing for foster youth; and cut money for Adult Protective Services and a legal hotline for seniors. The Democratic caucus refused to agree to these cuts, saying that CalWorks had been reduced so much already that these cuts would create a serious hardship for families and for parents who are often working but simply not making enough money to escape poverty, and that California had always attempted to at least maintain a safety net for children. As to foster children and transitional housing, we indicated that every year, 4,000 youth are emancipated from the foster care system without being adopted. Of those, 65 percent have no place to live, 51 percent are unemployed and 59 percent receive Medi-Cal. Emancipated females are four times as likely to receive welfare as other young females in the state. We also refused to acquiesce to the cuts for senior programs.

Requested Reductions in the Time Government Positions are Held Open

Under the budget as passed by the Assembly, open positions would be held open for a year, as it is often difficult to recruit and employ the great variety of experts necessary in the several technical branches of the executive branch, scientists, mathematicians, researchers, and a myriad of experts. The Republican caucus insisted that, if jobs were not filled within six months, they must be eliminated.

Non-budget Item:

The Republican caucus expressed a great deal of concern that the California Attorney General was going to somehow limit the use of the newly minted housing and transportation bond money by insisting that any new projects funded by bond monies report how much greenhouse gas they would create. While the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) had not been held, as yet, to include global warming issues, there was concern that Attorney General Brown would use it this way. The Republican caucus made it a condition of their vote that a separate bill be adopted when the Assembly returned to session barring the Attorney General from using CEQA for these purposes.

Next......

On August 20, the Assembly came back into session.....in my next essay, the final budget agreement.