June 5, 2007

Poor, disabled fare worse in ‘May Revise’

Human service priorities proposed

By Assemblymember Jim Beall
Special to the Times

On May 14, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger released the revision to his 2007-08 budget, known commonly as the “May Revise.” Disappointingly, the poor fare even worse in the May Revise than in the governor’s January budget. A new cut suspends the state cost of living for 1.2 million elderly, blind and disabled Californians, costing each about $25 per month. Additionally, the proposal reaffirms $325 million in cuts for poor children the governor proposed in January, which were firmly rejected by the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on which I sit.

While assuring the early payment of $1.6 billion in state bonds to Wall Street, the governor proposes to deny the state’s lowest income residents a cost of living increase totaling $645 million in 2007-08 and $1 billion in 2008-09.
The major cuts to the poor consist of the cuts noted in the chart below.

As chair of the Human Services Committee as well as a member of the Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, I have strongly opposed the governor’s cuts in aid to the poor.  Instead I have promoted a positive agenda of fiscally sound improvements and reforms in human services programs. My three human services budget priorities are:

- A 5 percent increase in rates paid for children in foster families and relatives in the Kin-Gap program. Contained in AB 324 (Beall). Resulting in a cost that equals $5 million cost offset by $1 million in savings. Net cost = $4 million

- Reduction of red tape and bureaucratic barriers to increase access to federal food assistance programs. A key feature of this is contained in AB 433. This results in a cost of $38.9 million offset by $48.2 in savings and added sales tax revenues. Net savings = $11.3 million.

- Improved child support collections through a 3.5 percent increase for local child support services agencies tied to improved program performance. An $8.3 million cost that we could turn directly into $75 million in collections. Of that amount, $8 million would go to the State General Fund, $8 million would go to the federal treasury and $58 million would go to children and families.

Combined, these priorities actually save the state nearly $7 million. Additionally, I am working closely with the Democratic leadership to stave off the governor’s proposal to eliminate all assistance to as many of 190,000 underprivileged children currently receiving Calworks child-only grants.