Calif. Communities Brace for Impact of Funding Cuts in Budget Revision

On Tuesday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signed a budget revision package and used his line-item veto authority to eliminate $489 million in funding for state programs, including more than $150 million in cuts to health care programs.

The line-item vetoes came on top of about $1.6 billion in cuts to health care programs that the Legislature approved.

Legislative leaders assert that the line-item vetoes are illegal, a charge the Schwarzenegger administration denies (California Healthline, 7/29).

Several newspapers recently examined how the budget revision and line-item vetoes will affect local communities and health programs. Headlines and links are provided below:

• "Governor Vetoes Cost Kern Millions" (Burger/Wenner, Bakersfield Californian, 7/28).
• "O.C. Health Providers Brace for State Cuts" (Perkes, Orange County Register, 7/29).
• "Budget Cuts Devastate Health Care Providers" (Yang Su, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7/29).
• "Added Budget Cuts Hit Home" (Lin, AP/Redding Record Searchlight, 7/28).
• "Local Officials Say Budget Cuts Devastating to Health Care, Seniors' Programs" (Kisken, Ventura County Star, 7/29).

Editorial

"Of all the failures in this budget agreement, the reversal of California's commitment to care for low-income children is the most stunning," a San Jose Mercury News editorial states.

Schwarzenegger's line-item veto cut an additional $50 million from Healthy Families on top of the $144 million already cut from the state's Children's Health Insurance Program under the budget revision.

The editorial urges state officials to challenge the governor's legal right to use line-item vetoes in the budget revision. It also calls for California's First 5 Commission and health insurance companies to help preserve funding for Healthy Families (San Jose Mercury News, 7/29).

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