Gov. Schwarzenegger went too far last Friday when he used his line-item veto power to cut nearly $1 billion in social services and health programs from the $87.5 billion budget the Legislature had passed earlier that day.
These vetoes will be devastating to thousands of families, revealing once again his apathy for the needy and a soft spot for the greedy.
Nearly half of his vetoes target working parents and children by eliminating essential funding for abused and neglected children, mental health services for 20,000 students, and child care for single-parent working families. These were not unavoidable cuts. The governor’s vetoes will jeopardize the safety and well-being of thousands of children by forcing many working parents to choose between jobs and child care.
It also eliminates $18 million for alcohol and drug programs, halves state spending for AIDS local assistance programs and cuts $80 million in programs for abused and neglected children.
The governor’s unilateral cuts come during an economic recession when people already struggling are most in need of help.
But like other wealthy California Republicans, Schwarzenegger believes in balancing the budget on the back of the poor, while continuing to give millions in tax breaks to rich corporations.
We Will Reverse Them
Rest assured that one of the first actions that the Speaker and the Democratic Caucus will take with the new governor is to restore those cuts taken by Gov. Schwarzenegger's vetoes.
Throughout the budget negotiations we Democrats urged the governor to suspend previously authorized corporate tax breaks that have yet to be implemented.
However, the governor and Republican legislators insisted on $200 million in new corporate tax breaks as a condition to reaching a budget agreement.
If the governor and the Republican Caucus had accepted any of our moderate tax reform proposals or held off on the new corporate tax breaks, he would not have had to make any of the line item vetoes to create the budget reserve.
Unfortunately, the governor’s abuse of his veto power will devastate thousands of California families and send many of them into financial crises.
The Democratic leadership negotiated for 100 days to preserve the safety net for California’s neediest citizens, however, the two-thirds vote requirement makes it nearly impossible to pass a budget that protects them as long as a minority in the legislature can hold up the process.
While I am absolutely outraged by Gov. Schwarzenegger’s line item vetoes, I am pleased to say that the final budget does not include several of the severe cuts proposed in Schwarzenegger’s May budget revision, such as the elimination of CalWorks, major cuts to the state’s In-Home Supportive Services program and reductions in Medi-Cal reimbursements for adult day health care services.
The budget also will provide more K through 12 education funding than the governor had proposed in May and increases the funding of the University of California and Cal State systems by at least $250 million each.
Budget Overview
The budget aims to close California’s $19 billion deficit partially by leveraging accounting strategies that would delay some payments until the next fiscal year.
The plan also assumes that the state will receive about $5.3 billion in federal funds that have yet to be promised. The assumed federal funds include $1.3 billion in higher payments for Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program.
The budget plan also cuts $937 million from health and human services programs. The spending reductions include:
• $300 million from the In-Home Supportive Services program by imposing a 3.6% reduction in caregiver hours, leveraging federal funds and assuming lower caseloads;
• $187 million by enrolling elderly and disabled residents into managed care programs; and
• $84 million by freezing hospital Medi-Cal rates.
The proposal also reduces prison health care spending by $820 million.
Line-Item Vetoes
The governor’s vetoes cut spending from 23 line items. The move aimed to increase state reserves from $364 million to more than $1.3 billion by eliminating:
• Child Welfare Services — $80 million. At least 700 social workers across the state will be laid off or not backfilled due to this cut. As a consequence, 143,000 reports of child abuse or neglect will not be investigated and thousands of foster children will not be reunified with their families. The governor’s veto also means California will lose federal matching funds, bringing the total funding cut to this program is $133.5 million.
• AB 3632 Mental Health Services for Students — $132 million. Thousands of children with disabilities and mental health needs will be denied help, including children with autism spectrum disorders, children with other developmental disabilities, and mental health needs.
• Stage 3 Child Care —$256 million. Eliminates child care for 60,000 families statewide, including 81,000 children. It will make it even more difficult for Californians to keep their jobs, become financially stable, and provide children with a safe environment while their parents work. In Sacramento alone, 1426 Stage 3 families (90% are working) would lose childcare. 2829 children would be affected and would no longer have quality, educational child care services. Four hundred and seven child care providers would be impacted, losing $19 million in child care reimbursement annually. An additional 60 families per month will lose their services as they end their 2 years after cash aid on CalWorks Stage 2 and be placed on an eligibility list. The eligibility list for child care in Sacramento County already has more than 3,000 income eligible children who are not being served and waiting.
State Sen. Curren D. Price Jr. is running for re-election on Nov. 2, and his website is http://dist26.casen.govoffice.com/
