Budget Breaking News:
The “Big 5″ has reached a deal…floor vote likely on Thursday. For complete details read on….
*Gov says, “no new taxes”
*Bass says, “cuts protect safety net. expect about $6 B in K-14 education cuts”
*local govt will also take a hit
*15 B cut package includes 4 B to locals,
*6 B to K-14
*Cuts: 6 B in ed, 3 B in higher ed,
*local districts have authority to cut school year up to one week to deal with cuts
*500 M to CalWORKS
*scored savings include $1 bil for sale of state insurance funds
*100 M for new offshore oil drilling
*big chunk includes ‘fund shifts’ and accelerated income tax withholdings for corporations
*budget has ‘reserve’ of about $800 million, no major cuts to state parks
*no early release of prisoners
*226 M in healthy families cuts
*medical cuts about 1.3 B over 2 years.
*15.5 B in cuts
*4 B in revenues (no taxes)
*2.1 B in borrowing
*1.5 B in fund shifts
*$875 M reserve
*1.4 B in corrections
*integrated waste board will be folded into new executive dept.
*new background checks and fingerprinting requirements for IHSS providers and recipients. no cuts to provider salaries.
*Steinberg: frankly, we may not be done (cutting) yet.
*Steinberg: we have faced a cumulative $60 B deficit since Jan. 1
*Bass: locals had to be ‘partners in this pain’
*Bass: ’95 percent’of final budget was vetted and voted on in conf. committee
Source: Capitol Weekly
Speaker Bass Announces Budget Agreement
Democratic Efforts Prevent Safety Net Eliminations, Suspension of Proposition 98
SACRAMENTO – Today Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) announced legislative leaders and the governor have reached agreement on a plan to close the state budget deficit caused by the national economic recession. The plan ends California’s issuance of expensive IOUs to pay its bills and maintains a reserve to aid with potential fiscal problems in the future.
“These are painful solutions for all Californians and many of the cuts we have to make would be unthinkable if we weren’t in the midst of an unprecedented and ongoing recession that is plaguing our nation and our state,” Bass said. “But despite a two-thirds vote requirement that hamstrings our ability to pass responsible revenue solutions, we’ve prevented irreparable harm to our schools and prevented the proposed elimination of California’s safety net.”
Education: Democrats protected schools by rejecting the proposed suspension of Proposition 98 and guaranteeing that $11 billion in base funding will be returned to schools as the economy recovers.
Healthy Families: Democrats protected the health of children by rejecting both the proposed elimination of the Healthy Families program that provides health care for 900,000 kids and a change in eligibility requirements that would have kicked 250,000 kids out of the program. Further, the cuts that were made were in anticipation of funding from commissions and foundations that will prevent wait-listing for Healthy Families.
In-Home Supportive Services: Democrats rejected the virtual elimination of IHSS, preventing hundreds of thousands of elderly and disabled Californians from possibly being forced into expensive nursing homes. Targeted cuts to IHSS will instead ensure people can continue to receive these cost-effective services. Further, new protections were implemented to prevent the small amount of fraud actually proven to occur.
CalWORKs: Democrats prevented the elimination of CalWORKs and protected children by supporting child care and similar CalWORKs services that allow 65,000 Californians to work and move their families toward self-sufficiency. Eliminating CalWORKs would have made California the only state in the nation that, instead of moving people from welfare to work, moved them from work to welfare.
Local Government: The protection of state safety net services limits the workload burden that would have fallen on local governments if safety net eliminations had occurred. The budget agreement contains less borrowing from local governments than the plan first put forward by the governor, limiting the reduction of gas tax funding for cities and counties to only two years and allowing for accelerated repayment to minimize impact of the Proposition 1A suspension.
source: Karen Bass
As significant as the cuts are, note that this budget is full of raids on local government (including redevelopment agencies), gimmicks such as acceleration of tax withholding, and numerous uses of one time money for on-going needs. To a significant extent, the can has again been kicked down the road. Expect to next see cities, counties and school districts budget cuts because of this State budget – the pain will be felt locally for sure.
Also, changing the school year will NEVER happen. Teachers unions have to vote on contracts and get them ratified so you may as well consider that one….dead. Teachers unions are lazy and they won’t want to do all that…no way. You will hear them whine about what is best for kids…when really it is what is best for the union.
Jill,
I beg to differ.
Hundreds of districts have adopted modified schedules.
In many cases in the Extreme Northern part of the state the CTA prefers this. In addition at a recent SSDA (Small School District Association) meeting this was EXACTLY what the preferrred solution was.
The trouble in the larger Bay Area and So. Cal districts is the Status quo.
As aside, SAUSD came up in a curious conversation, with the highest rate of nepatism in California. This is not a bad thing but, it was noted that thirty year teachers had “coached” their own kids to work the systemn by nailing down MA’s in the early years. This is gossip of course, and like me, you probably agree that the children of educators make good educators.
Well, then let’s see what our local union says about the shortened school-year then. I will sit back and enjoy the show. They will never in a million years go for this because they will have to create a new contract and go through a bunch of hurdles. Popcorn anyone?