Schwarzenegger, Republican Legislators Not Pushing Midyear Funding Reductions

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and Republican legislators "have abandoned quick action" on Schwarzenegger's proposed mid-year funding reductions for fiscal year 2003-2004, including funding cuts to health programs, the Orange County Register reports. According to the Register, the move "suggest[s] that Schwarzenegger is making little headway against Sacramento's entrenched political culture on budget matters" (Hinch/Quach, Orange County Register, 2/26). Last week, the Assembly 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 the governor's proposal for $1.9 billion in midyear funding reductions. 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. 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, 2/20). Senate President Pro Tempore John Burton (D-San Francisco) and Assembly Budget Committee Chair Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said this week that they will not consider the cuts at this time, but they said that the cuts would be discussed as part of Schwarzenegger's FY 2004-2005 budget proposal. Burton said, "My theory is, if you are going to have to do harm to someone, you wait to see what really has to be done" (Orange County Register, 2/26).