Morning, Marine. :)
Posted on 02/24/2005 6:27:09 PM PST by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO (AP) - Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill suggested new ways Thursday to solve the state's budget problems, including suspending the after-school initiative championed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger before the actor turned politician.
Though the program hasn't begun, Hill said it could soon add $424 million to the state's bills while California remains in a budget crisis.
Schwarzenegger, who headed the Inner-City Foundation to provide after-school programs for children, successfully qualified and passed Proposition 49 on the 2002 ballot.
Days after Hill suggested revenues are up $2.2 billion due to an improving economy, she labeled the governor's measure - which gives after-school programs first call on extra funds - "autopilot budgeting" when the state has enough trouble covering the basic needs of schools.
A suspension would require the Legislature to put it on the ballot for a new vote.
Schwarzenegger spokesman Vince Sollitto said the governor would oppose such a move and he pointed out that the initiative hasn't begun because of the state's fiscal crisis.
"The governor is opposed to formulas that require the state to overspend," he said. "That's not the case with 49. It was drafted to be fiscally responsible and only go into effect when the state is not overspending."
In January, Schwarzenegger proposed a $111.7 billion spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1, a budget he called the product of a broken system.
While a final spending plan remains months away, recommendations by Hill, the Legislature's veteran budget analyst, set the stage for debate.
Traditionally, governors revise their proposal in May after new revenue forecasts, while the Legislature tries to pass its own version with a two-thirds majority vote by July 1. Most years the compromise misses the deadline as Republicans fight for further cuts and Democrats resist them.
Schwarzenegger signed the $105 billion budget passed last year on July 31.
Thursday, Hill predicted Schwarzenegger's proposed $2.9 billion increase for schools and community colleges in the new fiscal year would fall about $500 million short of needs.
She blamed an administration plan to shift $469 million in teacher retirement costs from the state to local school districts, saying funding formulas would force the state to pay schools an equal amount.
The administration disputed that theory, Sollitto said.
Despite Tuesday's good news about extra revenue, Hill said the Legislature and governor still need $4 billion to $5 billion in cuts or taxes "to get out of this fiscal jam." The budget plan under consideration is the state's sixth straight to face deficits since the economy faltered in 2000.
"We have consistently recommended that all options be on the table and that continues to be our recommendation," she said. Schwarzenegger has just as consistently opposed tax hikes since taking office in November 2003.
Hill also suggested that the Legislature repeal long-term deals Schwarzenegger negotiated with state universities for more money, saying they'll add $2 billion to state costs through 2011. She suggested lawmakers instead take the initiative and consider higher education budgets year by year.
In other remarks, Hill:
-Criticized the administration for twice not preparing a five-year statewide infrastructure funding plan required by a 1999 law. Sollitto said the administration will submit it soon.
-Suggested the administration consider options to privatizing pension plans for state employees hired after 2007. She said the Legislature has numerous options to repair the present retirement system. She also noted a possible hybrid in which the state contributes to a traditional pension system while employees contribute to individual accounts.
-Said a new budgeting system used by California's Department of Transportation is producing misleading numbers and makes legislative oversight of Caltrans nearly impossible.
Finally, Hill repeated her criticism of the governor's insistence on a constitutional amendment that makes across-the-board cuts in state programs if revenues fall short of obligations.
"It's a very blunt tool," she said. "It treats all programs the same and it doesn't differentiate between high priorities and low priorities."
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On the Net:
Read the Legislative Analyst report at http://www.lao.ca.gov
View the governor's proposed budget at http://www.dof.ca.gov
(Denny Crane: "There are two places to find the truth. First God and then Fox News.")
Oh, pleeeease take more of our money to pay for the public sector!
Do we really need or want a well-funded public financed cradle to grave social program , and why shouldn't it include illegals? It seems only fair, huh? ;-)
What a mess, liberalism/socialism/marxism makes a FRee society that is open to this pap, huh?
If it makes ya feeeel goood, do it... let somebody else may for it.
pay=may
Proposition 49: After School Education and Safety Program
We recommend the Legislature enact legislation placing before the voters a repeal of Proposition 49 because (1) it triggers an autopilot augmentation even though the state is facing a structural budget gap of billions of dollars, (2) the additional spending on after school programs is a lower budget priority than protecting districts' base education program, and (3) existing state and federal after school funds are going unused.
As approved by voters in 2002, Proposition 49 requires the state to provide substantially more funding for the ASES program beginning some time between 2005-06 and 2007-08. When certain conditions are met (please see nearby box next page), the proposition triggers an automatic increase in state funding for the program—from the $122 million provided in 2003-04 to $550 million (a $428 million increase). Importantly, when these additional funds are provided for the program, they will be "on top of" the state's Proposition 98 minimum funding guarantee (referred to as an "overappropriation"). Proposition 49 also converted after school funding to a "continuous appropriation" (that is, no annual legislative action is needed to appropriate funds).
We have serious concerns with the proposition, which we discuss in detail below.
(Continued in LAO Report )
>>Do we really need a taxpayer-funded afterschool program? That's the question no one seems to be asking.
See post #7: "We recommend the Legislature enact legislation placing before the voters a repeal of Proposition 49 ..."
We already have an "afterschool program", it's called HOMEWORK!
And we already have a "facility", it's called a LIBRARY!
gezzzzzzzzzz
Analyst targets a Schwarzenegger favorite
AFTER-SCHOOL FUNDING MEASURE IS PART OF BUDGET PROBLEM
By Kate FolmarSACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has railed recently about the need to halt ``cruise-control'' spending that leads to perennial budget shortfalls.
Thursday, the non-partisan budget analyst gave her diplomatic -- but pointed -- advice about where to begin: Repeal Proposition 49, the after-school initiative that launched the political career of one Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Even before it has taken effect, the governor's pet project has the potential to imperil the state's finances, said Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill.
Proposition 49, passed in 2002, calls for automatic increases for after school programs from $122 million to $550 million when general fund spending reaches a certain level.
"Our concern with Proposition 49 is: It would require a $428 million general fund augmentation at the time when the state is still facing significant budget problems," Hill said. The measure is expected to kick in sometime in the next few years -- even as the state owes schools back payments. Meanwhile, California is not spending all the available federal money available for after-school programs.
California faces an $8.6 billion gap in its $112 billion budget for the fiscal year starting in July. Hill reported earlier this week that the deficit will be eased by more than $2 billion in new income. But the state still must create $4 billion to $5 billion in ongoing savings or revenue -- or else face continued deficits in years to come.
(snip)
BTTT!!!!!
Morning, Marine. :)
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