California Disability Community
Action Network Disability Rights News goes out to over 45,000 people with
disabilities, mental health needs, seniors, their families, workers,
community organizations, including those in Asian/Pacific Islander,
Latino, African American communities, policy makers and others across
California.
REMEMBERING JOAN LEE 1927-2008
- Memorial Service August 15th
California Budget Crisis - Day 34
* GOVERNOR AND LEGISLATIVE LEADERS MEET SUNDAY
* NO BUDGET DEAL - BUT TALKS WILL CONTINUE
* LEGISLATURE RETURNS MONDAY AUGUST 4TH
Important Legislative Deadline Approaches For Final Action on
Bills for 2008 Session
SACRAMENTO - With California now 34 days without a budget, Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger and the four State Senate and Assembly leaders met
early Sunday evening (August 3), though by the meeting's end, no budget
deal was near. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (Democrat - Los Angeles)
said talks would continue through the week but insisted that the $15
billion budget deficit could not be closed by cuts alone.
The Governor met with Assembly Speaker Bass, Senate President Pro Tem Don
Perata (Democrat - Oakland), Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill
(Republican - Fresno), and Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines
(Republican - Clovis) for about an hour an a half.
Legislative Leaders Say Talks Will Continue - Hopeful For
Agreement Before End of August
Legislative leaders from both parties have indicated last week that they
were hopeful of a budget agreement before the end of August.
Assembly Speaker Bass said that the Governor and
legislative leaders would "continue to work" but that the
"hang-up is a $15 billion deficit" that the State "cannot
solve that deficit with cuts alone".
Sen. Cogdill said the Sunday meeting "was a step
in the right direction" but emphasized again that legislative
Republicans "don't believe in raising taxes" especially during
a time when the State's economy is bad.
Budget Passage Needs Republican Votes
In California, passage of a state budget requires "super
majority" votes - 2/3rds approval in both houses.
In the Assembly, 54 votes (out of 80 members are needed to pass a
budget. Democrats control 48 seats and Republicans hold 32.
That means 6 Republican votes are needed, assuming all 48 Democrats
vote for a budget.
In the State Senate, 27 votes (out of 40 State Senators) are needed to
pass a budget. Democrats control 25 seats and Republicans control 15.
Assuming all 25 Democrats vote for a budget, at least 2 Senate
Republicans are also needed
Crisis Will Get Worse In Coming Weeks if Budget Delay
Continues
The Governor's executive order last Thursday that temporarily state
worker pay to the federal minimum wage and lays off as many as 10,000
temporary state workers, has increased pressure on policymakers to reach
an agreement.
State Controller John Chiang, the independent state elected official who
is responsible for cutting the payroll checks to state workers, said he
would refuse to implement the Governor's order to reduce wages unless a
court ordered him to do so. The State Controller however cannot
halt the laying off of temporary state workers.
Officials at the Department of Developmental Services have said that the
Governor's order would not have significant impact on community-based
services to children and adults with developmental disabilities, or
those in developmental centers.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities,
mental health needs and seniors will soon be facing wide spread
reduction in community-based services with the State unable to pay or in
some cases continue paying community providers, until a budget is
passed. Other providers, who have been without state funding since
mid-July, have taken out short term loans - though many are facing or
soon will be facing a new crisis in meeting payroll and other costs as
loans are tapped out. Some providers are not able to secure loans
or loans that will cover costs past August.
Advocates Worry About A Budget Agreement That Will Mean More
Cuts
Disability, senior and other advocates, while worried about the impact
of a continued budget delay on critical services and supports, also
fear that additional cuts will be agreed to in order to win the 6
Assembly Republican votes and 2 Senate Republican votes that are
needed to pass a budget.
The budget proposal as pushed by legislative Democrats in June,
restored many - but not all - of the cuts that Governor Schwarzenegger
originally proposed in January and also in May, and included over $8
billion in new revenues, including some new taxes. Republicans
have pushed a budget that would contain all of the Governor's proposed
cuts in January and May, and also new cuts and borrowing - but no new
revenues or taxes. [CDCAN will issue a report this week
outlining the details of the proposals]
NEXT STEPS
* Both the Assembly and State Senate come back into session
Monday,afternoon, August 4th after its summer recess. State Senate
is scheduled to convene at 2 PM, and the Assembly at 12 noon.
* Both houses are scheduled to adjourn the 2008 session August 31 - the
Senate may in fact adjourn earlier - if a state budget is passed before
than.
* No floor votes on the budget have been scheduled - and likely will not
be until a budget agreement is reached.
* Deadline to hear and report bills out of Assembly and Senate
Appropriations Committee in order to stay alive for any final votes before
the end of the 2008 session, is August 15th (Friday).
* The Assembly Appropriations Committee may hold its final hearing to
announce which bills will be reported out to the Assembly floor and which
bills will be held in committee, August 7th, though that hearing date is
"upon call of the chair".
* The Senate Appropriations Committee has scheduled a hearing for
August 4th to hear over 200 Assembly bills - most which will be referred
to its "suspense file". A "suspense file" is a
holding place for any bill that committee staff has estimated could cost
the State a certain amount of money (in the Senate, that cost is $50,000
or more). The "suspense file" allows the committee chair and the
leadership in both houses to prioritize all such bills and then decide
which ones can continue for further action on the Assembly or Senate
floors - and which bills will remain in committee (which means the bill is
dead).
* The Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet scheduled its final
hearing when it will announce which bills will be reported out to the
Senate floor for further action and which bills it will hold in committee.
PLEASE
HELP CDCAN CONTINUE ITS WORK!!!
Townhall Telemeetings, reports and alerts and other
activities cannot continue without your help!
CDCAN Disability Rights News Reports, Telemeetings & other Events
Advocacy Without Borders - ONE Community:
News Impacting People
With Disabilities, Mental Health Needs, Seniors & others,
including Asian Pacific Islanders, Latinos, African Americans
communities across California and beyond - Reports go out to over
45,000 people with disabilities, seniors, mental health needs &
others, organizations, policy makers across California
This report - and the CDCAN townhall telemeetings, and other events
and projects are for all of them and for promoting advocacy without
borders toward unified action. We are one community.
To respond to this report reply to: Marty Omoto at martyomoto@rcip.com
CDCAN website: www.cdcan.us
To continue the CDCAN website, the CDCAN News Reports. sent out
and read by over 45,000 people and organizations, policy makers and
media across California and to continue the CDCAN Townhall
Telemeetings which since December 2003 have connected thousands of
people with disabilities, seniors, mental health needs, people with MS
and other disorders, people with traumatic brain and other injuries to
public policy makers, legislators, and issues. Please send your
contribution/donation (make payable to "CDCAN" or
"California Disability Community Action Network):
CDCAN
1225 8th Street Suite 480
Sacramento, CA 95814
Note: the paypal option on the CDCAN website is temporarily
not working and will be fixed soon.
The CDCAN Townhall Telemeetings are partially funded by a small
grant from the USC UCEDD, Grant #90DD0540 from the Administration on
Developmental Disabilities. (note: the opinions expressed or content
in these reports do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of
the USC UCEDD.
MANY MANY THANKS to Friends of Children with Special Needs, UCP of
Orange County, UCP of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, Alta
California Regional Center, FEAT (Families for Early Autism
Treatment), Life Steps, Easter Seals California, Parents Helping
Parents, Work Training, Foothill Autism Alliance, Arc Contra Costa,
Pause4Kids, Manteca CAPS, Training Toward Self Reliance, UCP,
California NAELA, Californians for Disability Rights, Inc (CDR)
including CDR chapters, CHANCE Inc, , Strategies To Empower People
(STEP), Harbor Regional Center, Tri-Counties Regional Center, 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, adoption assistance program
families and children, and others across California
DISABILITY
RIGHTS NEWS REPORT