JUNE 2008
IN THIS ISSUE A Word from Anna: Budget Reform Urgently Needed In the District Rallying to Protect Teachers and Kids Education Forum - June 5, Watsonville AB 2173 - Funding for New Schools Creating Incentives for Affordable Housing |
Gov. Schwarzenegger has released his revised budget proposal. There's no question about it: this is another bad news budget. The Governor now estimates that we have a $15.2 billion deficit in the fiscal year that starts July 1. His solution is to borrow against state lottery funds - and cut deeply into some important programs. The cuts will hurt children, college students, the elderly, the disabled and ill people, farmers and working families. Students and teachers would still face $4.3 billion in education cuts. Some teachers will still get pink slips. There is some good news. After months of telling communities all over the state that "We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem," the Governor now acknowledges that we can't solve the ongoing structural budget deficit with cuts alone. He's proposing to create a budget stabilization fund, to balance out the highs and lows that occur with state revenues, depending upon economic conditions. And he wants to create a tax modernization commission to help structure some 21st century reform proposals. Both of these reforms are ones I've been advocating for many months. One thing is certain: we need a bipartisan approach to budget reform. Republicans and Democrats need to work together on reform solutions to end budget gridlock. Even as we struggle to patch together a budget solution for 2008-09, I'm working with my colleagues and other interested stakeholders to encourage discussions about real solutions to our very real budget problems. We need to do more than just cut programs when times are bad. We can and should do a better job, by reforming the fundamental problems that create ongoing deficits.
This spring I joined with teachers, students, school administrators, janitors and other school employees to urge the Governor to protect education in his budget proposals. And we were at least partly successful. Unlike his January budget proposal, the Governor's May Revision no longer proposes suspending Proposition 98 funding. However, our work is not over, because the Governor's budget cuts $4.3 billion for both K-12 schools and community colleges.
What can and should California do to improve education? How can we best prepare our students for the 21st century challenges they will face? Join me, Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, members of the California Latino Legislative Caucus, educators and parents in a roundtable discussion of state education legislation and policy. This Education Forum will be held on Thursday, June 5, from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. at the Watsonville Civic Center, 275 Main Street in Watsonville. For more information, please contact Rebecca Alcantar in my office: 831.759.8676.
Protecting state funding for schools is only part of the picture. Our rapidly growing state also needs to build new schools to house our children in facilities that are safe, and meet the educational needs of the 21st century. My AB 2173 would do this, by revising and updating the process for school districts to calculate the fees that residential developers pay to help fund new school facilities. The developer community recognizes the need for this update, and is working with me and my sponsor, the Coalition for Adequate School Housing, to develop a new approach to these fees which is fair and effective. (To learn more about this bill or any of my legislation, please visit. www.leginfo.ca.gov.)
Few experiences are as devastating as the loss of one's home. Hundreds of families in my district have been dealing with this crisis - along with many thousands throughout the state and our country. The impacts on these families is felt throughout our communities and our economy, with harder-to-get credit, sluggish housing sales, and abandoned properties even in upscale neighborhoods. I've responded to this crisis by hosting a series of workshops throughout my district to help families facing foreclosure better understand their options. The no-cost workshops were conducted in English and Spanish by the Homeowners Rescue Alliance (HRA). HRA developed a pilot project to help negotiate better foreclosure terms for groups of homeowners that sign up with them for this no-cost service. The results of this program should be available within the next few months.
There's an ongoing, urgent need to build more affordable housing, in my district and in many other areas around the state. I have two bills that will help. Both use voter-supported bond funds to create incentives and rewards for cities that will offset the costs of building affordable housing. AB 2494 allocates $200 million in housing-related park funds that the voters supported, when they passed Proposition 1C - the housing bond. This bill makes park-poor communities eligible to receive park funding if they also achieved basic goals in building affordable housing. Another bill, AB 2182, would use a similar approach to allocate a portion of the $90 million in planning funds that voters passed in Proposition 84 if the community uses good planning principles such as smart urban growth. (View these bills at www.leginfo.ca.gov.)
Voters strongly support construction of more affordable housing: majorities voted to pass housing bond measures in 2002 and 2006 to help provide funding. But what about a longer-term, on-going source of funding? Please join me and state Housing and Community Development Director Lynn Jacobs in a special workshop on this issue. It will be held on Friday, June 6, from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m., at the Salinas Community Center, 940 North Main Street, Salinas. This event is jointly sponsored by CHISPA (Community Housing Improvement Systems and Planning Association, Inc).
Assembly Member Anna Caballero has received the 2007 Crime Fighter Award from Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California, a bipartisan, non-profit, anti-crime organization led by more than 350 sheriffs, police chiefs, district attorneys, and victims of violence. The award was given in April in recognition of her work as the chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Youth Violence Prevention. "Assemblywoman Caballero is a true champion for crime prevention and youth outreach," said Barrie Becker, state director of FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS California. "She understands the importance of supporting community-based programs that help at-risk kids avoid criminal activity and help juvenile offenders get their lives back on track." Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California is dedicated to reducing crime by supporting early investments - such as after-school, preschool, child abuse and neglect prevention programs and interventions for troubled youth - that are proven to keep kids from becoming involved in crime, saving California both the societal and incarceration costs associated with criminal activity. |
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District Office: 100 West Alisal Street, Suite 134 Capitol Office: |
