Schwarzenegger Announces Opposition to Three Health-Related Propositions on November Ballot

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Monday announced his opposition to the following three health care-related measures that will appear on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot, the AP/Contra Costa Times reports. Summaries of the ballot measures appear below.

Proposition 61, a $750 million measure that would pay for construction, expansion and equipment for children's hospitals. Including interest, the program would cost about $1.5 billion over 30 years;
Proposition 63, a measure that would increase by 1% the state personal income tax on individuals whose annual incomes exceed $1 million to finance an expansion of mental health services. The measure would raise an estimated $700 million annually to care for people with severe mental illnesses; and
Proposition 67, an initiative that would add a 3% surcharge to residential telephone bills to fund hospital emergency services and training. The initiative would generate an estimated $550 million annually to fund emergency department services (California Healthline, 9/27).

Schwarzenegger said in a statement, "What we have here are three initiatives that are not special interest shams but unfortunately are poor public policy for California at this time," adding, "I commend the proponents for their good motives, but unfortunately California needs more than good intentions right now."

The governor said health care reform should not be conducted in a "piecemeal" manner, concluding, "Until California's fiscal health is fully restored, we must take care to not overreach in ways that threaten our fragile economic recovery."

According to the AP/Times, Schwarzenegger's announcement "will no doubt hurt the chances of supporters of the three measures," although recent polls show that a ajority of voters support Propositions 61 and 63 (Chorneau, AP/Contra Costa Times, 10/12).

Proposition 63 Broadcast Coverage

KPCC's "KPCC News" on Thursday included an interview by KPCC's Shirley Jahad with Marc Haefele, editor and columnist for the Los Angeles Alternative Press, about Proposition 63 (Haefele, "KPCC News," KPCC, 10/7). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.

In addition, KPBS' "KPBS News" on Monday reported on Proposition 63. The segment includes comments from Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers' Association; Peter Farrell, CEO of medical device company Resmed; Rusty Selix, director of the California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies; and Assembly member Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) (Goldberg, "KPBS News," KPBS, 10/11). The complete transcript is available online. The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.

Additional information on Propositions 61, 63 and 67 is available online.

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.