A Balanced, Fair, and Responsible California Budget Ready for Senate and Assembly Floor Votes

Appeared in the California Progress Report

June 30, 2007.

By Assemblymember John Laird
Chair, Conference Committee on the Budget

The Budget Conference Committee concluded work yesterday on a $140 billion budget that is balanced and contains a $2.1 billion reserve. This budget not only protects the state’s most vulnerable citizens but invests in preventative programs that will save the state money in future years. It contains no new taxes and no new social programs.

After six months of hearings and collaboration, we’ve completed the budget committee process and have a balanced, fair and responsible budget. This balanced budget restores draconian cuts and preserves Democratic values while also giving Republicans key reasons to be pleased, such as a reserve in line with the Governor’s proposal and no new taxes, as well as full funding for local governments, Prop. 42 transportation, and last year’s public education equalization agreement.

My colleague, Senator Denise Ducheny (D-San Diego), Chair of the Senate Budget Committee has said: “We’ve acted to provide a legislative budget prior to the constitutional deadline of July 1st. We are sure that this budget would receive a majority on the floor, and are hopeful that once it is reviewed by our colleagues, this ‘workload, no frills’ budget will receive the necessary two-thirds vote. California’s failure to manage its corrections system has resulted in a budget which is out of control, and out of our control. Health care costs keep increasing. This is why the few investments that we’ve made are committed to prevention. Not only does this budget maintain our commitment to the less fortunate, seniors, children of the working poor, our education system, and foster children, it seeks to make strategic investments to avoid expenditures in our corrections system in the future.”

Key Highlights of the 2007-08 Budget
(as passed by the conference committee)

Overview:

• Balanced budget with $2.1 billion reserve, the same as the governor’s level
• No new taxes.
• $2.5 billion in debt payoff of Economic Recovery Bonds
• Appropriations from nearly all of new bond funds in the budget bill
• No new social programs.
• Fully funding growth and COLA in Prop. 98
• Full funding for last year’s K-12 equalization deal.
• Full funding for local governments, including mandate payments.
• Near full funding for local law enforcement programs (more than $500 million total), none of which are state programs.
• Full funding of Prop. 42 transportation

Protecting the state’s most vulnerable populations

• Provides $147.3 million to fully fund the cost of living increases for SSI/SSP recipients.
• Rejects governor’s proposed cuts to CalWORKS, including $324 million in aid to children

Foster Care Reforms

• 70 percent of people in state prisons have spent time in foster care
• $10 million in general fund money for a 5 percent rate increase for foster family homes and an increase in group home rates beginning Jan. 1, 2008
• $11.2 million for transitional housing for foster youth. Every year, over 4,000 youth are emancipated from the foster care system without being adopted. Of those:
• $2 million in general fund to increase the private adoption agency reimbursement rate

Mental Health Care

• $54.9 million for integrated services for the homeless mentally ill adults program used by 34 counties. California taxpayers save $2 for every dollar expended on this program.

Other key highlights:

• $120 million for Prop. 36, which provides drug treatment instead of incarceration
• $24.9 million for state meal supplements for free and reduced priced meals. This will increase the state rate from 14 cents to 21 cents. There has not been an overall state rate increase in 15 years. The federal government provides $2.40 per meal.
• Approved funding to accelerate by one year implementation of the state’s bio-monitoring program. Legislation last year by Sen. Perata created the nation’s first statewide program to measure chemical contamination in members of the general public.
• Approved the governor's request for 50 new judgeships in the budget year.
• $8 million in general fund money for the state to respond to a court decision on unclaimed property. The Controller will now notify all property owners before property transfers to the state.
• $1 million to pursue climate change litigation but restricted the money so that it can only be used to defend air board rules requiring greenhouse gas reductions in automobiles.