<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=text/html;charset=iso-8859-1 http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.7600.16722"></HEAD>
<BODY style="PADDING-LEFT: 10px; PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 15px"
id=MailContainerBody leftMargin=0 topMargin=0 CanvasTabStop="true"
name="Compose message area">
<DIV>
<H1><FONT size=3>This is the role that California's Democrats will play in
the legislative process when the budget cuts are directed by a Democratic
Governor. </FONT></H1>
<H1>Democrats OK big cuts to California's safety net</H1>
<P class=byline>Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau</P>
<P class=byline><FONT face=Calibri><A
title="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/04/MNOM1I3N0S.DTL&type=printable
CTRL + Click to follow link"
href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/04/MNOM1I3N0S.DTL&type=printable">http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/04/MNOM1I3N0S.DTL&type=printable</A></FONT></P>
<P class=date>Friday, March 4, 2011</P>
<DIV class=sidebar>
<DIV id=objecthumbs>
<DIV id=contentobjects><A
href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2011/03/04/MNOM1I3N0S.DTL&o=0&type=printable"
target=""><IMG border=0
alt="Mark Leno was the committee's leading Senate Democrat." vspace=1
src="http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2011/03/03_t/mn-cabudget04_PH_0502981639_t.gif"></A>
<A
href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2011/03/04/MNOM1I3N0S.DTL&o=1&type=printable"
target=""><IMG border=0
alt="State Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, left, and Assemb..." vspace=1
src="http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2011/03/04_t/ba-California_Bu_0503084583_t.gif"></A>
<A
href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2011/03/04/MNOM1I3N0S.DTL&o=2&type=printable"
target=""><IMG border=0
alt="State Sen. Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, gives a thumbs up as ..." vspace=1
src="http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2011/03/04_t/ba-California_Bu_0503084518_t.gif"></A>
</DIV>
<DIV class=clear></DIV></DIV></DIV><SPAN id=articlebody>
<P><STRONG>(03-04) 04:00 PST Sacramento</STRONG> -- After years of fighting to
save health and social services for the poor and elderly, Democrats on a key
legislative committee reversed direction Thursday and voted for a budget plan
that makes large cuts to California's safety net. And, in a rare action, the
vote sends the package to the full Legislature months before the constitutional
deadline.</P>
<P>Lawmakers voted to limit welfare, cap the number of doctor visits for the
poor, end the Adult Day Health Care program for the elderly and eliminate
redevelopment agencies, among other reductions, to close California's $26.6
billion deficit.</P>
<P><STRONG>A vote by the full Legislature on the plan, which includes $14
billion in additional taxes, could come as early as Wednesday. Also Thursday,
the state's leading business group signaled it would support the plan and defend
individual lawmakers who take heat if they vote for it.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>While Democrats on the conference committee voting on the plan
approved the cuts, Republicans voted against many of them because they said the
plan had too few details or the cuts were tied to the tax proposal. Democrats at
several points noted their difficulty in voting for the proposals.</STRONG></P>
<P>"Unfortunately, given the severity of the crisis, ... California is going to
look a little different by the time we get to the end of the budget season,"
said Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, who was the leading Senate Democrat on the
committee. He called the elimination of redevelopment agencies "earth-shaking
for many stakeholders."</P>
<P>Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield, D-Woodland Hills (Los Angeles County), chaired
the committee and said that in taking the actions, "I'm so far out of my comfort
zone I feel like Charlie Sheen at a rehab clinic."</P>
<P>While the legislators voted to dismantle redevelopment agencies and the Adult
Day Health Care program, lawmakers said they would work to create new, more
efficient programs to take their place over the next few months.</P>
<P>After the vote, Blumenfield said he doesn't want day health centers to "close
their doors." Lawmakers approved eliminating all but $85 million of the $176
million program and will use that money to launch a new program to provide
medical care and other assistance to low-income, disabled and elderly
adults.</P>
<P>On redevelopment agencies, which have the strong backing of local officials
who are waging an all-out counterattack on that part of the plan, lawmakers said
they would work to create a mechanism for local governments to have their own
similar agencies that wouldn't siphon property tax dollars from counties and
cities as the current program does.</P>
<P>Backers of redevelopment agencies on Thursday called the plan to eliminate
the agencies unconstitutional, and they have vowed to take the issue to the
courts.</P>
<P><STRONG>Gov. </STRONG><A href="http://www.sfgate.com/jerry-brown/"><FONT
color=#015660><STRONG>Jerry Brown</STRONG></FONT></A><STRONG>, a Democrat,
praised the committee's action, which also increased the general fund reserve by
several hundred million dollars to $1.1 billion.</STRONG></P>
<P>"The conference committee today made some bold decisions and I commend their
work and their willingness to face the tough challenges that this year's budget
presents," Brown said in a released statement.</P>
<H3 class=subhead>Trims and limits</H3>
<P>In addition to those actions, the committee also voted to:</P>
<P><STRONG>-- Limit the time that adult recipients of CalWORKS, the
welfare-to-work program, can be part of the program from five years to four
years.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>-- Cut $486 million from the In-Home Supportive Services program for
the elderly and disabled, partly by requiring certification that the care is
necessary.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>-- Cap the number of annual doctor visits for people on Medi-Cal, the
state's Medicaid program, at seven, but allow an exemption if a doctor certifies
more visits are medically necessary.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>-- Eliminate enterprise tax zones and implement the governor's plan
to move some public safety services from the state to the local level, a process
called realignment.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>-- Cut another $50 million from services for the developmentally
disabled on top of $527 million already agreed to.</STRONG></P>
<P>Health advocates who previously have praised Democrats for blocking cuts to
the safety net blasted Thursday's action.</P>
<P>"It's hard to overstate the severity of health cuts in the budget, as they
will be felt directly by hundreds of thousands of patients, by the over 8
million Californians with Medi-Cal or Healthy Families coverage, and by all of
us who want our health system to be there for us when we need it." said Anthony
Wright, executive director of Health Access California, which works for
affordable access to health care. </P>
<H3 class=subhead>Plan called 'half-baked'</H3>
<P><STRONG>Republicans on the committee voted against many of the proposals,
including the public safety realignment.</STRONG> Sen. Robert Huff, R-Diamond
Bar (Los Angeles County), called the plan "half-baked" because it relies on the
additional taxes, while Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber (Tehama County), said
he had "grave reservations" about consequences for the public.</P>
<P><STRONG>The effort to win votes for a budget deal was given a boost by the
California Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, as Allan Zaremberg, president and
CEO of the powerful organization, said the group could support a "comprehensive
plan" that included bipartisan backing to close the budget deficit.</STRONG></P>
<P>While he did not commit to supporting a tax increase, he ruled out support
for a budget that erases the deficit through cuts alone. Legislative leaders are
seeking to put the additional taxes on a June ballot.</P>
<P>He also said the chamber would provide backing for those criticized for a
budget compromise vote. </P>
<P>"It's important for them to know and people to know there's going to be
support for them if they participate in a solution that is comprehensive and
helps solve the budget crisis," Zaremberg said. The chamber backed a failed 2009
measure to extend the same taxes now being proposed and spent money to defend a
lawmaker who was subjected to an unsuccessful recall attempt for his vote.</P>
<P>"I welcome the forthright and positive message of the California Chamber of
Commerce," Brown said in a statement. "It is apparent that momentum is now
building for a bipartisan budget solution that includes spending cuts and a
temporary extension of current taxes."</P>
<P class=dtlcomment>E-mail Wyatt Buchanan at <A
href="mailto:wbuchanan@sfchronicle.com"><FONT
color=#015660>wbuchanan@sfchronicle.com</FONT></A>.</P></SPAN>
<P
id=url>http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/04/MNOM1I3N0S.DTL</P>
<P id=pageno>This article appeared on page <STRONG>A - 1</STRONG> of the
San Francisco Chronicle</P></DIV></BODY></HTML>