CALIFORNIA DISABILITY COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK
#106-2011  – MAY 17, 2011 – TUESDAY

Budget Related Legislative Language To Implement $79 Million In General Fund Cuts To Services & $92 Million in General Fund Savings To Developmental Services To Be Heard By Assembly Budget Subcommittee On May 25th At 1:30 PM – Other Hearing Dates To Be Announced Soon Covering Healthy Families, and Other Issues 

SACRAMENTO, CALIF  (CDCAN)  [Last Updated 05/17/2011  10:32 AM] -  As previously reported, the Assembly and State Senate budget subcommittees will hold public hearings on Governor Brown’s new proposed budget revisions beginning next week including those impacting education, health and human services.  Those hearings next week and possibly the week after will likely be the only time public comment will be taken on the Governor’s new proposals before action is taken by the full Legislature, which faces a June 15th deadline to send the main budget bill to the Governor.  

That deadline is critical because if the Legislature fails to pass the main budget bill on or before June 15th (the State Constitutional deadline), and send it to the Governor, penalties under Proposition 25, passed by voters last November, kick in.  Those penalties would include permanent loss of pay, travel and living expenses for all 120 legislators for each day the main budget bill is not passed after June 15th and presented (sent) to the Governor.   

While anything (or nothing) could happen, those penalties will likely mean that a months long stalemate into the summer will not happen – and a budget agreement is more likely sooner than later because of the penalties.  

Legislature Needs To Take Action On Governor’s New Budget Proposals and the Main Budget Bill for 2011-2012 That It Did Not Send To Governor 

• While the Governor did not propose additional new major reductions in his budget revisions released yesterday, the budget subcommittees – and the full Legislature – still need to take action on several issues, including approval of the specifics to implement $174 million in State general fund savings and reductions to developmental services ($79 million in proposed cuts to services and $92 million in proposed new federal funding and savings from a lowered budget caseload projection); the elimination of several boards and commissions, including the board that administers the Healthy Families program which the Governor proposes be shifted under the Medi-Cal program.  
• While the Department of Health Care Services is working with other state agencies and Adult Day Health Care centers and their statewide association, the Association of Adult Day Health Care Centers, on the steps to transition to other Medi-Cal funded services over 34,000 people with disabilities and seniors who are currently in the Adult Day Health Care program, as required by budget related legislation passed in March, the State is not taking any action on what happens next to the Adult Day Health Care centers or its workers.  The issue of what happens to the over 300 Adult Day Health Care centers and thousands of workers when the Adult Day Health Care Medi-Cal “optional benefit” is eliminated, could be an issue that the subcommittees may have to confront with possible budget “trailer bill” language that directs the Department of Health Care Services to seek a  federal Medicaid waiver to develop and create and new version of adult day health care services this year.  [CDCAN is issuing an Action Alert on Adult Day Health Care today] 
• What will not be heard or taken up are the Governor’s budget proposals from January that the Legislature already passed in March unless there are unresolved issues or if there were specifics that were to be reviewed and approved later (such as the details on how to achieve the $174 million cut in State general fund spending to developmental services – see below). 
• While the Legislature in March approved the overall reduction in State general fund spending to developmental services, it required the Department of Developmental Services under the Brown Administration to come back in May with a plan and any needed proposed legislative language to implement $174 million in reductions in State general fund spending to developmental services.  That is the issue the Assembly and State Senate budget subcommittees will hear.  

SCHEDULE OF BUDGET SUBCOMMITTEE HEARINGS 

The following are the schedule of public hearing dates – where brief public comment will be taken [CDCAN will issue action alert on these hearings are more information becomes available – people should attend these hearings] where health and human services related budget issues will be heard (other dates will likely be scheduled and all dates, times and locations and items to be heard are subject to change): 

MAY 25, 2011 – WEDNESDAY 

ASSEMBLY BUDGET SUBCOMMITTEE #1 ON HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
1:30 PM – State Capitol – Room To Be Announced 

Budget Items To Be Heard: 

·        Developmental Services 

PRIORITY: VERY HIGH 

PUBLIC TESTIMONY: Yes – brief (people can also submit written comments) 

CDCAN COMMENT: This subcommittee – like its counterpart in the State Senate, will hear and take public comment on the Brown Administration’s proposed budget related language (“trailer bill language”) to implement the $174 million in State general fund savings and reductions (of that amount $79 million is actual proposed cuts to services – while the remaining amount would come from new federal funding or savings from adjusting caseload budget projections). 

This will likely be the ONLY time the Assembly budget subcommittee will take public comment on this issue – though the public can submit also written comments. 

MAY 25, 2011 – WEDNESDAY 

SENATE BUDGET SUBCOMMITTEE #3 ON HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES 

Time to be announced – State Capitol – Location To Be Announced (likely Room 4203) 

Items To Be Heard: 

* To Be Announced 

PRIORITY: N/A 

PUBLIC TESTIMONY:  Yes – brief (people can also submit written comments) 

MAY 26, 2011 – THURSDAY 

SENATE BUDGET SUBCOMMITTEE #3 ON HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES 

Time to be announced – State Capitol – Location To Be Announced (likely Room 4203) 

Items To Be Heard: 

·        To Be Announced 

PRIORITY: N/A 

PUBLIC TESTIMONY:  Yes – brief (people can also submit written comments) 

MAY 27, 2011 – FRIDAY 

SENATE BUDGET SUBCOMMITTEE #3 ON HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES 

Time to be announced – State Capitol – Location To Be Announced (likely Room 4203) 

Items To Be Heard: 

·        To Be Announced 

PRIORITY: N/A 

PUBLIC TESTIMONY:  Yes – brief (people can also submit written comments) 

Legislature Previously Passed 13 Budget Related Bills That Governor Signed in March – But Never Sent the Main Budget Bill to the Governor 

As previously reported, the Legislature approved 13 budget related bills – referred to as “budget trailer bills” (because they are supposed to follow or trail the main budget bill) on March 17, which the Governor signed into law on March 24^th.   

• Those budget trailer bills included changes to State law in order to implement reductions to Medi-Cal, SSI/SSP (Supplemental Security Income/State Supplemental Payment grants), CalWORKS, developmental services (regional centers and developmental centers), and higher education.  Those reductions are State law now – and nearly all go into effect sometime on or after July 1 (the dates vary due to needed approvals from the federal government and/or the ramp up time to implement certain changes or reductions) 

•  In some cases certain cuts – such as the $2.5 million reduction to the Multipurpose Senior Services Program (MSSP) – are not in any of the budget trailer bills but are only in the main budget bill, which has yet to be sent to the Governor.  

• While the Legislature – controlled by Democrats – did pass on a majority vote the main budget bill for 2011-2012 on March 17^th, it did not send that bill to the Governor yet because there was no agreement reached on the Governor’s proposals regarding extending for five years the 2009 temporary tax increases that are scheduled to end June 30, 2011.  The Governor and Legislative Democrats at the time were hoping to place the issue – through the Legislature – on a June special election ballot for voters to ultimately decide.  

•  Legislative Democrats will pull back the main budget bill is passed in March (but never sent to the Governor), revise it (or another bill) to reflect the latest actual budget spending and revenue numbers and projections for 2011-2012 – and also revise to reflect how they want to extend the 2009 temporary taxes -  and then send the revised main budget bill and any additional budget “trailer bills” to the Governor with a target date of June 15th – the deadline in the State Constitution for the Legislature to send a budget bill to the Governor.  

•  That deadline, which has rarely been met in previous years, is more significant this year (and beyond) due to the passage in November 2010 of Proposition 25, which not only allows for approval of a State budget by majority vote in both the Assembly and State Senate (providing there are no tax increases – which would still require 2/3rds vote) but would impose penalties on each legislator if a budget is not passed and presented to the Governor by June 15th.  

• For every day it is not passed and presented to the Governor, each legislator loses permanently their pay and living/travel expenses.  That new incentive could help provide the means to break a budget stalemate from continuing for weeks or months on end.  

NEXT STEPS 

·        LEGISLATIVE ANALYST REVIEW OF BUDGET REVISIONS – the Legislative Analyst, the non-partisan office that analyzes and reviews budget issues for the Legislature will issue this week their review of the Governor’s proposed budget revisions, including their own projections on spending and revenues, based on actual numbers.  

·        ASSEMBLY & STATE SENATE BUDGET SUBCOMMITTEE HEARINGS – Both the Assembly and State Senate Budget subcommittees will hold public hearings – and take in public comment – on the Governor’s new proposals (see above for scheduled dates so far) [CDCAN will issue an Action Alert and Reports as information on these hearings are announced] 

·         BUDGET CONFERENCE COMMITTEE – though it is not certain how the Legislature will actually proceed beyond their subcommittee hearing process – in a normal budget year the Budget Conference Committee would hold hearings (no public comment taken) in early June to resolve any different actions taken by the Assembly and State Senate.  The Budget Conference Committee this year is chaired by Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield (Democrat – Van Nuys – 40^th Assembly District) and would finish up before June 15^th to allow both houses to vote on a final budget package.  

·        ASSEMBLY AND STATE SENATE FLOOR VOTES -  on or just before June 15^th, the full Assembly and State Senate will vote on the main budget bill for 2011-2012 and any additional budget trailer bills.  Because the main budget bill would likely contain proposals to extend the 2009 temporary tax increases (or contain other new revenue increases) it would require 2/3rds vote in both houses (54 in the Assembly and 27 in the State Senate, meaning if all Democrats vote for it, at least 2 Republicans in both houses would also be needed to pass it) . 

·        2011-2012 STATE BUDGET YEAR – different from the federal budget year – begins July 1, 2011 and ends June 30, 2012.  Nearly all of the reductions passed by the Legislature and approved by the Governor in March take effect either on July 1^st or sometime during the 2011-2012 State budget year that begins on that date.