CDCAN
CALIFORNIA DISABILITY COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK
DISABILITY RIGHTS NEWS REPORT
#060-2006  June 23, 2006 - Friday
Advocacy Without Borders:
Connecting people with disabilities & seniors to rights and unified action
IN MEMORY OF WARREN A. MATTINGLY WHO PASSED AWAY MAY 24
1225 8th Street Suite 480 - Sacramento, CA 95814  916/446-0013  Fax: 916/446-0026
To Respond to THIS email report reply to: martyomoto@rcip.com   
CDCAN website: www.cdcan.us

California State Budget for 2006-2007
* Gov Withdraws Proposal for Children County Health Insurance Programs
* Follows Action by  Democrats Withdrawing Healthy Families Expansion
* Actions Meet Republicans Demands - Vote on Budget Likely Early Next Week

SACRAMENTO -  Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger withdrew a $22 million budget proposal for county health insurance programs that cover all children, including immigrants who may be undocumented,  that meets the demands of Assembly and Senate Republicans who refused to support any budget with new proposals that fund healthcare services for immigrants who are not documented to live in this country.  Approval of the state budget requires (2/3rds) super majorities votes and needs Republican votes in addition to Democrats - who control both houses. 

The action by the Governor, followed by action taken by Assembly and Senate Democratic leaders on Monday withdrawing a $1.8 million proposal to begin expansion of the Healthy Families program, which provides healthcare for children from low income families not eligible for Medi-Cal, clears the way for a vote and passage of the State budget possibly on Monday or Tuesday next week.  The current budget the State is operating under ends on June 30.
Legislative budget staff in both houses are working on finalizing details and final drafting of legislative budget related language that will be amended into bills that are part of the State Budget - referred to as "budget trailer bills".  Details of those bills should be available Monday or early next week. 

No other major changes were made to the budget proposal as passed out of the Budget Conference Committee, which included restoration of the federal cost of living increase due January 2007  for SSI/SSP recipients, additional funding for supported employment programs, increased funding for certain work activity and day programs who meet specific requirements, 3% rate increase for several regional center funded community-based programs, and more. [see CDCAN Report #62-2006 will be issued later today for more details on the specific budget issues impacting people with disabilities and seniors]

Republicans Raise Other Issues - But Undocumented Immigrants A Deal Breaker
Republicans in the Legislature have raised other issues in the budget, including using $1 billion in new tax revenues to pay down loans the State borrowed rather than put the extra funding in a special reserve account in the budget as Legislative Democrats have proposed.  However, unlike the expansion of healthcare for children that included children who may not be documented immigrants, those issues were not "deal breakers" for Republicans in either house, according to statements made earlier this week by Republican leaders in the Assembly and Senate.  Funding issues impacting people with disabilities and seniors were not issues holding up a vote on the budget by Republicans (or Democrats). 

CDCAN Capitol News Reports and Alerts
These CDCAN Reports are partially funded by a small grant from the USC UCEDD, Grant #90DD0540 from the Administration on Developmental Disabilities.  The opinions expressed or content in these reports do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the USC UCEDD.
The California Disability Community Action Network is a non-partisan link to tens of thousands of Californians in every community, including people of color, people of every type of disability, including people with physical disabilities, people with developmental and other disabilities, people with traumatic brain and other injures, people with mental health needs, seniors, people with MS, Alzheimer's and others, and all of their families, community organizations and providers, direct care and other workers, and other advocates. These action alerts and news reports is for all of them.   If you would like to get on this distribution (and conversely, get off of  it) please send an email with that  request to:  martyomoto@rcip.com OR sign up via the NEW CDCAN website at www.cdcan.us  Sharing information is part of our organizing effort. Please feel free to forward or copy  this (attribution is nice but not necessary). We're all in this together!
MANY THANKS to Training Toward Self Reliance, UCP, California NAELA, Californians for Disability Rights, Inc (CDR), CHANCE Inc, Parents Helping Parents, Arriba, Strategies Toward Empowering People, Parents Helping Parents, Asian American parents groups, Resources for Independent Living and many other Independent Living Centers, several regional centers, People First chapters, IHSS workers, other self advocacy and family support groups, developmental center families, and hundreds of individuals.  Thanks also to partnerships and the good people with the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, and also the Department of Health Services, the Department of Developmental Services, Department of Social Services and the CA Health and Human Services Agency and other agencies, and the State Legislature and staff, the Legislative Analyst Office.  Good people who do good things can make a difference together.