Berg updates supervisors, blasts governor's initiatives
November 02, 2005
Assemblymember Patty Berg illuminated the Board of Supervisors Tuesday to the state's political movement over the past year. In her legislative talk, she spoke of benefits to come, asked the supervisors for their help and said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was to blame for a "very unproductive" year.
The state's budget dominated her year-end report, given as part of her tour of county governments districtwide. Berg, who has represented the 1st District since 2002,said the Legislature balanced California's budget earlier than in years previous only four days behind schedule.
Among the state's successes, Berg highlighted an avoidance of new fiscal borrowing, protection of funding for public schools and prevention of wage rollbacks. A grant cut proposed for Calworks was also narrowly removed by Berg's colleagues, as was a proposed $500,000 cut for rural law enforcement.
The distribution method for those public education dollars disappointed Berg. Instead of providing discretionary funding to the schools, the money will be principally provided as onetime funding. This dismayed Berg, who bemoaned the state's well-below-average per-pupil spending.
Berg may have been most proud of the fact that the Democrat-majority Assembly and Senate pared down a $38 billion deficit three years ago to a $4.7 billion debt. It still is not ideal, Berg said, but it is nice progress.
The assemblymember discussed some major bills in specific:
Berg's needle exchange bill, Assembly Bill 547, passed on her third attempt and is intended to slow the spread of hepatitis and other diseases by making countywide clean needle programs easier to run. Before the legislation, political bodies had to approve the funding, but the governmental role is now reduced and health care can work more efficiently to remove dirty needles, Berg said.
A caregivers tax credit, AB 298, would have continued to provide caregivers a $500 tax credit until 2011, but failed in its floor vote. Medical aid providers who care for mentally or physically ill patients at home, thus saving the state millions of dollars from hospitals and other care groups, deserved the small bonus, Berg said
Safe Rights to School Act, AB 1107, would have provided rural schoolchildren newer buses, which would be safer and environmentally friendlier. A rural school district in Sonoma County presented her with the notion, Berg said, with the need to get pre-1987 buses off the streets. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill, saying he did not want public funds paying for hybrid vehicles. Berg called his veto unfortunate because the safety was the real issue of the legislation.
The California Health and Insurance Reliability Act, Senate Bill 840, could "truly cure what ails our health care system" by establishing nonprofit insurance plans that reduce administration costs by $19 billion annually, bring down the price of prescription drugs and cover all Californians for life. The bill moved through three Senate committees before stalling as it left the Senate. The money saved from admin costs would be diverted to direct health care services. Berg said the legislation would be back next year because it would save families up to $3,000 a year and employers $2,000 per employee a year.
In part because California's uninsured rate is the fourth-highest in the country, Berg will conduct a series of community health forums with state Sen. Wesley Chesbro in the coming months.
Berg has become a national figure on aging issues, largely due to her work with the California Compassionate Choices Act, AB 651. Berg's bill would allow mentally competent, terminally ill patients the right to control their own death with a lengthy list of safeguards. "People want this dialogue with their doctors" due to some unbearable suffering, Berg said. "We're determined as ever to make this choice a reality for Californians." With the Baby Boom generation entering the elderly population, greater attention must be given to the state's seniors, Berg said. "We are barely meeting all the needs of seniors today," she added.
Berg had nothing but kind words for the supervisors for their passage of a same-sex marriage resolution. The assemblymember, who co-authored the Religious Freedom and Marriage Equality Act, AB 849, noted that even though the vote came down 3-2, the words were "thoughtful and respectful."
"It was a noble and honorable thing to consider it," Berg said. "Simply providing the opportunity for discussion in Mendocino County is a vital service for the community."
Supervisor Hal Wagenet asked Berg if the board could aid her work in Sacramento. She replied by welcoming all letters of support they could write as well as a prioritization of a legislative agenda. Berg also asked the supervisors to allow county staff to advocate on behalf of their priorities.
Before leaving for Lake County, Berg condemned the statewide initiatives, the election for which is next Tuesday, saying she believed such lawmaking is the Legislature's role. She doubted success for any of the governor's proposals.
"I'm appalled at the kind of money going into the initiative drive," Berg said. "Consultants are making a lot of money. The governor's polling at around 32 percent favorable and that's in part because of this initiative process."
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