Senator Patricia Wiggins
Representing the communities of Vallejo, Benicia, Rio Vista, Green Valley, & Vacaville

Solano County
Democratic Central Committee
January, 2007 Report

Budget

In my last report (Nov-Dec), I mentioned that “we may be facing our most difficult budget since Governor Schwarzenegger has taken office.” Well, we are. In fact, this is the worst budget situation I have witnessed since I was first elected to the Assembly in 1998. We face a $14.5 billion deficit which may worsen by the time our tax revenues actually arrive in May if the economy continues to decline. This $14.5 billion deficit reflects a $3.3 billion shortfall in our current budget year (2007-2008) and a projected $11.2 billion shortfall next year.

Our current year budget problems are largely due to our decrease in expected revenue by $5 billion. The $4.1 billion reserve that we budgeted last year will address some of the shortfall, but we are still short $900 million in the revenue department as well as $2.4 billion in unexpected expenditures (primarily in K-12 education and fighting our Southern California wildfires during the summer) that should have been covered by our budgeted reserve.

Without getting overly technical, the reality of our situation is we will need to cut $3.3 billion from our budget by February 24th, which is only a month away. If we fail to do so, we will increase our deficit further by $1 billion a month as a result of state and federal laws and court orders.

The current year budget cuts proposed by the Governor will have real, direct impacts on some of our most vulnerable populations. These proposed cuts are as follows:

• $400 million to K-12 education. It is unclear as to the exact impact this proposal will have on K-12 school in Solano County, however, individual school districts will receive less money for many programs outside of the mainstream classroom instruction. Fortunately, there should be no impact on special education.
  
• $47.6 million for healthcare services. This cut include a 10% cut to Medi-Cal provider rates which are the rates at which medical providers receive from the state for serving Medi-Cal patients. This will result in fewer doctors agreeing to receive Medi-Cal patients.
  
• $16.8 million for mental health services. This cut will mainly target the Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) Program which provides important early pediatric screening of low-income children.
  
• $73.7 million to CalWorks. This program is incredible important in a down economy as it provides temporary financial assistance and employment focused services to families with minor children.
  
• $6.8 million to special emergency children’s programs which helps provide emergency social services intervention to high risk casework. This funding provides emergency response to casework where there is alleged abuse and has been responsible for saving lives.
  
• $23.1 million to SSI/SSP. The SSI/SSP program provides cash assistance to low-income persons who are elderly, disabled, or blind. This will reduce the amount they will be able to take home. With the cost of living increase that we all face and especially the rising costs in healthcare, it is particularly troubling to know that this population will have less money than before.
  
• $17.9 million to corrections. This is part of the Governor’s plan to reduce the population in our prisons by implementing a nonviolent prisoner early release program.

Our State Parks

I am very upset and troubled by the Governor’s plan to close many of our state parks. I am further troubled that the Governor stated days later that he was just trying to “rattle the cage” as I thought this was very immature and unprofessional. Nonetheless, he didn’t rescind his proposal and it is my belief that he will still move forward with this proposal if we don’t fight him. Below is an editorial I recently wrote and sent to our local media.

Why Closing Parks Isn’t the Answer

By Senator Patricia Wiggins

The proposed budget released by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on January 10 is a blueprint for a poorer quality of life in California, including his recommendation that we close nearly 20% of the state’s parks.

The park closures are part of his proposal for a 10% across-the-board cut to all state departments. While this may sound good as a sound bite, a 10% cut can decimate a department that has been fiscally responsible – State Parks, to be specific – while some bloated, wasteful departments and programs may actually feel less of a pinch. This is no way to lead the state and no way prioritize California’s needs.

Let’s take a closer look at the parks department’s budget to prove my point.
Over the past three decades, the department has streamlined significantly and reduced its costs. To save money, department officials began deferring maintenance operations back in 1980s. This is a fancy way of saying that they stopped fixing or repairing roofs, restrooms, parking lots, etc.

It wouldn’t have taken Nostradamus to predict that the state would begin to rack up a huge backlog of maintenance projects, the cost of which now stands at about $1.2 billion.

Next, during the budget crisis of the early Nineties, the state completely restructured the parks department, a move which resulted in the elimination of 572 staff positions and 30% of the supervisory and management positions.

At the beginning of the current decade, the parks department received 55% of its budget from the state’s general fund. That amount has now been reduced by 35%. Furthermore, in 2003 an additional 90 positions were cut from the department’s budget

Californians love their parks, and because of this fees have been able to compensate for much of the cuts that the department has been subjected to over the last decade. While fees are one way to help offset general fund costs, there is a limit – at some point costs become too high for Californians, as well as tourists from other states and countries, to continue visiting the parks.

When fees become high enough, they limit park access to a dwindling number of people able to afford them, thus denying access to many working families or people on limited incomes.

The numbers make it clear that the Parks Department has been running on a shoe-string budget for over a decade now. It is because of the creative state employees who staff these facilities and the dedicated volunteers who love these parks that the state has been able to maintain them as well as they have. The Governor’s proposal to close 48 state parks – including Benicia Capitol State Historic Park and Benicia State Recreation Area locally – is a slap to the face of these exemplary Californians.

So will closing 48 state parks have a significant impact on the state’s budget deficit? Let’s see: The deficit is projected to be around $14 billion for the next year-and-a-half – closing the parks, we’re told, will lead to “savings” of about $13 million. In addition, closing the 48 parks means that the state will lose almost $4 million in revenues for these sites – reducing the supposed net cost benefit by quite a bit.

It’s the Governor’s responsibility to lead, and leadership includes prioritizing the state’s needs. A 10% across the board cut is no way to do this.

Nor should the deficit burden be shouldered by the parks department, which has continually streamlined and reduced costs over the years. As we strive to reach agreement on a state budget, it is my hope that the Governor will reconsider this strategy.

If you would like anymore information on the budget, please contact Sean MacNeil, Chief of Staff, at (916) 651-4002 or email him at sean.macneil@sen.ca.gov

Suisun Bay Mothball Fleet

I mentioned in my last report that I will be holding a hearing on the Mothball Fleet in the Suisun Bay as the Chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture. The hearing has been set for February 7, 2008, at 2pm in the Benicia City Council chambers. The purpose of the hearing will be to provide information to the public on the contamination issues and the different cleanup proposals as well as to find a resolution to this situation. Currently, the United State Maritime Association (MARAD) owns the decaying fleet and has been in violation of California’s Clean Water Act and faces fines up to $10,000 per day by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board.

For more details, please contact Fred Euphrat, Chief Consultant, at (707) 576-2771 or email him at fred.euphrat@sen.ca.gov.