Assembly Unanimously Approves Budget Measures, Excluding Funding Cuts to Health Programs

The Assembly on Thursday unanimously voted to approve a legislative package that would eliminate $1 billion from the fiscal year 2003-2004 budget through fund shifts and borrowing but did not approve cuts to health care programs included in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) proposal for $1.9 billion in midyear funding reductions, the Sacramento Bee reports (Bluth, Sacramento Bee, 2/20). The Assembly Budget Committee on Tuesday approved the measures. The Senate Budget Committee earlier this month voted to reject the governor's midyear budget cuts, including reductions to health programs for low-income residents (California Healthline, 2/18). The $99.1 billion budget proposal would reduce state funding for health care programs by more than $900 million, with about $880 million in spending cuts to Medi-Cal, including a provider reimbursement rate cut of 10% (California Healthline, 1/20). Assembly Budget Committee Chair Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said that while program cuts had not been approved, they are "still on the table." The measures now go to the Senate for consideration (Sacramento Bee, 2/20).