Line-Item Vetoes in California Budget Cut Into Health Efforts

Administrators of local health care programs in Humboldt County are voicing concerns about the implications of the $510 million in funding that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) eliminated from the budget using his line-item veto authority, according to the Eureka Reporter (Harrison, Eureka Reporter, 9/25).

The last-minute cuts eliminated $153 million from health and human services programs (California Healthline, 9/24).

According to the Reporter, the governor's vetoes cut the state Department of Public Health Department's budget by $6.2 million for programs dealing with infectious diseases and $2.7 million for services related to domestic violence.

In addition, Schwarzenegger eliminated funding for a program targeted at repeat criminal offenders with mental illnesses.

Phillip Crandall, director of the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services, said the county likely would end its repeat offender program in two weeks.  He said that the county will continue to use funds from the state Mental Health Services Act to provide services for residents with severe mental illnesses.

Cindy Denbo, executive director of the Area 1 Agency on Aging, said that the state long-term care Ombudsman and Supportive Services also were hit with line-item vetoes that pushed the funding cuts for the programs above the $250,000 cut proposed in January.

With his line-item veto, the governor increased the total funding cut from the programs to $6 million (Eureka Reporter, 9/25).