Governor Vetoes Budget Bill With Cuts to Prison Health Care Funds
On Monday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) vetoed a budget measure (ABX8 2) designed to reduce state spending by $2.2 billion in part by cutting prison health care expenditures by $811 million, the Los Angeles Times reports (Rothfeld, Los Angeles Times, 3/8).
In his veto message, Schwarzenegger wrote that the bill "does not actually implement spending reductions" to help close California's $19.9 billion budget gap. Administration officials said the reductions were categorized as intended cuts, rather than spending appropriations.
In addition, officials said the bill did not address the deeper cuts to social services that Schwarzenegger proposed when he called an emergency budget session in January (Theriault, San Jose Mercury News, 3/8).
Other Budget Measures
Also on Monday, Schwarzenegger signed seven other budget-related measures designed to reduce state spending by $200 million through various funding maneuvers.
The governor has yet to act on another budget bill that would modify the state's gasoline tax (Los Angeles Times, 3/8). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.