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2003-12-07 -- State budget caps, bond measure temporarily forestalled

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10th, 10:00 AM
West Steps of State Capitol (facing L Street)
Sacramento

Sponsored by the CA Coalition of United Cerebral Palsy Associations,
to protest the proposal to suspend the Lanterman Act and other cuts
that would harm people with disabilities and seniors.
(see below.)

Saturday, December 6th, 2003

* NO AGREEMENT ON SPENDING CAP & DEFICIT BOND
* LEGISLATURE TO REFOCUS ON PROPOSED CUTS
* MARCH BALLOT STILL CRITICAL FOR HEALTH CARE
* BUDGET ACCOUNTABILTY ACT: Local Meetings & Speaker Trainings
* SB 2 REFERENDUM: Support for the Bill; Against the Repeal

GOVERNOR FAILS TO GET LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT FOR MARCH BALLOT PROPOSALS

Three-way negotiations--between Governor Schwarzenegger, legislative
Republicans, and legislative Democrats--failed to come up with a
proposed deficit bond and spending cap to be placed on the March 2004
ballot. Neither Democratic nor Republican proposals that were voted on
were able to reach the necessary two-thirds vote.

GOVERNOR'S FLAWED PROPOSALS:

Legislative Democrats rejected the Governor's severely flawed
proposals, including a bond proposal included a $15 billion bond that
would be paid for over a 15-30 year period with minimum interest
payments totaling $23 billion at a rate of 4.72%.

His spending cap proposal would have made permanent every cut made to
date, plus $10-14 billion more, with no ability to restore those cuts
to health care, education, and other vital services in better times.
It also included a power grab to grant the Governor unilateral powers
not seen since before the Magna Carta, including the ability to
rewrite laws with consent of just 1/3 of the legislature.


ALTERNATIVES TRIANGULATED:

Legislative Democrats negotiated and offered several alternatives on
both proposals, including a $15 billion bond paid over 7 years with
significantly lower interest payments totalling $18 billion, and other
forms of spending caps and "rainy day" budget reserves.

Even if the Governor, who sent many conflicting messages over the week
but said he was willing to negotiate and be flexible, was able to come
to an agreement with legislative Democrats, it was unclear whether any
agreement would get the approval of legislative Republicans, which was
needed to get the 2/3 vote for passage.


FUTURE BALLOT EFFORT?:

The Governor has threatened to sponsor a campaign to collect the
signatures needed to place a spending cap proposal on the
ballot--possibly in November 2004--which would then not need
legislative approval.

Health advocates should be vigilant about such a proposal, which would
not only prevent any progress in meeting the health needs of
Californians, but force even more severe cuts in basic health services
on which all Californians rely. It is worth noting that voters
rejected by 54%-46% Governor Pete Wilson's Proposition 165,
"Government Accountability and Taxpayer Protection Act of 1992," which
was a similar, but actually more modest, power grab.


HEARINGS ON CUTS UPCOMING:

With the debate on the spending cap postponed for now, legislative
attention will return to the Governor's proposed mid-year cuts.

On WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10th, the Senate Subcommittee #3 on Health and
Human Services, chaired by Senator Wes Chesbro, will conduct an
informational HEARING from 11:00am to 3:00pm. Public testimony will be
taken on the mid-year cuts, including the proposed reduction in
Medi-Cal provider rates and the enrollment caps in Healthy Families
and several other health programs.

A PROTEST RALLY, sponsored by the CA Coalition of United Cerebral
Palsy Associations, will take place right before, on the West Steps
(facing L Street) at 10:00am, to protest the proposal to suspend the
Lanterman Act and other cuts that would harm people with disabilities
and seniors.

THE REAL SOLUTION ON THE MARCH BALLOT:
PROPOSITION 56, BUDGET ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

Despite the lack of legislative action, there will be significant
budget reform on the March 2004, in the form of Proposition 56, the
Budget Accountability Act, which is supported by a wide range of
organizations, including Health Access California, League of Women
Voters, CA Council of Churches, California State PTA, and many other
community organizations. For more information, the web site is
http://www.budgetaccountabilitynow.org.

BUDGET REFORMS THAT WORK: Proposition 56 includes the creation of a 5%
"rainy day" budget reserve, to set aside money in the good times so we
don't have such a problem in the bad times. This and other provisions
would actually go a long way to meet Candidate Schwarzenegger's
promise that California "never again" be in such a budget crisis.
Clearly, the budget gridlock demonstrated in the past week indicates
that the reforms in Budget Accountability Act are needed now as much
as ever, despite the change in the Governor's Office, especially in
dealing with the budget debate in 2004.

LOCAL COALITION MEETINGS: Regional "Yes on 56" coalition meetings have
been forming, to plan press events and begin the organizing for this
major campaign. Health and community advocates are invited to come. To
RSVP, contact Cristina Uribe in northern California at 916-443-7817,
or Tracy Zeluff in southern California at 213-738-8405.

SAN JOSE: Monday, December 8th, 12noon-1pm, SEIU 715, 2302 Zanker
Road, San Jose
LOS ANGELES: Tuesday, December 9th, 3-4pm, SEIU 660, 500 S. Virgil
Ave, Los Angeles
EAST BAY: Monday, December 15th, 12noon-1pm, SEIU 250, 560 20th
Street, Oakland
SAN DIEGO: Monday, December 15th, 2-3pm, Springfield College, 5348
University Ave, San Diego

SPEAKER TRAININGS: Supporting organizations are invited to involve
their staff, leaders, members, and volunteers in becoming trained as
speakers on Proposition 56. From learning the most up-to- date
campaign message to learning how to deal with tough questions, the
trainings are a great way for organizations and individuals to plug in
to the campaign. These two-hour sessions are usually held twice, one
in the day and usually one in the evening. To RSVP or for more
information, contact Jessica Reynolds at 510-450-0101.

SAN DIEGO: Monday, December 8th. Springfield College, 5348 University
Ave, 11am & 5:30pm
SAN BERNARDINO: Tuesday, December 9th. Safety Employees Assn, 433
North Sierra Way, 11am & 3pm
SAN JOSE: Wednesday, December 10th. SEIU 715, 2302 Zanker Road. 11am &
5:30pm
OAKLAND: Tuesday, December 16th. First Unitarian Church, 685 14th St,
11am & 5:30pm
SACRAMENTO: Wednesday, December 17th. Central Labor Council, 2840 El
Centro Road, 11am & 3pm FRESNO: Friday, December 19th. 1303 North Rabe
Ave. 11am

REFERENDUM TO REPEAL KEY HEALTH CARE BILL (SB 2) TENTATIVELY SET FOR
MARCH BALLOT

Beyond Proposition 56, Californians concerned about health care will
have another critical reason to VOTE on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2004.

SIGNATURES FILED: Some business interests led by the California
Restaurant Association and fast-food interests have submitted 620,000
signatures to place a referendum on SB 2 (Burton) on the March ballot.
These groups--misleadingly called Californians Against Government Run
Health Care--reportedly spent well over a million dollars in this
effort to repeal this recently-passed measure to protect the
employer-provided health care of millions of Californians, and to
extend such coverage to one million more.

LAWSUIT PENDING: A legal challenge is pending, charging that
signatures were collected "based on a false and misleading title and
summary." In particular, the petitions falsely described the bill.
Under the bill, employers of 50 or more workers would pay a fee into a
state purchasing pool to provide health coverage to workers. They
would have the fee waived if--as over 90% of such employers now
do--they already provide coverage to their workers. The petition
indicated that the bill applied to employers of 20 or more. In fact,
employers of 20-49 workers are exempt--until a tax credit can be
provided, which is not in law nor is even proposed.

COALITION FORMING: A coalition of organizations representing doctors,
consumers, workers, seniors, hospitals, and other health leaders is in
planning stages to wage this referendum fight in March. Our health
care system is in crisis, and as the strikes in southern California
show, even those who have health coverage are in danger of losing it.
Some large employers are leading the way in pushing more and more
health costs onto individuals, further fragmenting our health system
and creating more uninsured. The result of this vote will dictate the
future of health care and health care reform.

JOIN THE COALITION: Health Access California invites your organization
to say YES to SB 2, and against the repeal of these protections.
ATTACHED is a preliminary sign-on fax-back form. Please have your
organization sign on to this critical campaign. Campaign meetings will
be announced shortly, and more information forthcoming.

Anthony E. Wright Executive Director Health Access
1127 11th St., #234,
Sacramento, CA 95814
Ph: 916-442-2308,
Fx: 916-497-0921
awright@health-access.org