“Governor Releases Proposed 2008-2009 Budget” from the California Budget Project is our site of the day

In the wee hours of the morning, the California Budget Project released a 13 page document that they have dubbed a “quick and dirty” summary of the California state budget proposed yesterday by Governor Schwarzenegger.

Governor Releases Proposed 2008-2009 Budget is a must read for all who are interested in the state budget, the single most important issue of the year in California’s public policy. It is amazing how much have packed in such a short and handy document.

It has links to the Governor’s budget documents for those who wish to look at original sources.

Here is a preview of what is in this report:

The Governor’s Budget would cut 2008-09 spending levels by $10.7 billion and current year spending by $283.2 million.

Large cuts include:

• $1.126 billion of reductions in state spending for Medi-Cal in the current and budget years. The proposed reduction would cost the state $1.139 billion in lost federal matching funds as well. The largest share of the reductions would come from reducing payments to providers of health services – including doctors and some hospitals – by 10 percent.

• $463 million of reductions to the CalWORKs Program over the two-year period. The largest share of the savings would come from terminating aid to certain children who receive assistance through the so-called “safety net” program after their parents have reached the CalWORKs Program’s time limits.

• $323.5 million in savings from suspending the June 2008 and June 2009 state cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for cash assistance grants for low-income seniors and persons with disabilities in the SSI/SSP Program.

• $372.2 million in combined 2007-08 and 2008-09 reductions to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. These savings would be largely attributable to the Governor’s proposals that would expedite release of over 20,000 nonviolent offenders from state correctional facilities.

• $2.607 billion in 2008-09 reductions to K-12 apportionments. Apportionments provide general operating support for local school districts. This translates into a loss of $443 per student. Total proposed 2008-09 reductions to K-12 education, including the loss of federal matching funds, translate into a loss of $787 per student.

In separate sections, the report gives as good an overview of proposed changes to the budget process, the roots of the deficit, and the “Strategic Growth Plan” (bonds) that the Governor is proposing.

There also are more detailed bulleted lists and descriptions of cuts in these main areas of the budget:

Medi-Cal
Other Health Programs
California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) Program
Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) Program
In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Program
Other Human Services
Child Care and Development Programs
K-12 Education
California Community Colleges
University of California
California State University
Housing
Transportation
State Employees and State Operations
Local Government
Labor and Workforce Development
Legislative, Judicial, and Executive
Corrections
Resources
Environmental Protection Agency

Whether you are interested in the budget as a whole or specific areas, this is as good a roadmap as exists at present.