AgdaPkt 2008-03-10 - Laserfiche WebLink

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'Budget Bills Signed' Continued from Page 1... The Governor declared a fiscal emergency in January, triggering provisions under Proposition 58 (2004) that required the Legislature to send him legislation addressing the fiscal crisis within 45 days. Had the Legislature not acted last week, it would have had until Feb. 23 to meet the 45 day deadline. The mid-year budget cut bills are part of the Third Extraordinary Session (X3). The Governor signed the following mid-year budget bills: . ABX3 3: This is the general budget reduction bill which shifts $30 million in state park maintenance costs to bond funds, allocates $167.5 million in cuts to an assortment of state programs, and redirects $409 million in Public Transportation Account (PTA) funds from debt reduction payments to Home-to-School Transportation in response to a recent court decision. . ABX3 4: This bill makes a variety of fund shifts and cuts to educational programs totaling $507 million in current-year savings. . ABX3 5: This bill makes a variety of cuts to health programs including reducing Medi-Cal provider reimbursement rates by 10 percent, effective July 1, 2008, to achieve $544 million in budget saving in FY 2008-09. Provider rate reductions for several children and disabled programs will achieve an additional $14.2 million in savings. ABX3 5 also delays payments to other providers assist state cash-flow problems and makes changes to several other programs to achieve additional savings. . ABX3 6: This bill delays the effective dates of cost of living (COLA) increase to several social service programs, including California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Program (Gal-Works), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and State Supplementary Program for the Aged, Blinded and Disabled (SSP). In addition, this measure delays several payments to counties for the months of July and August. . ABX3 7: This bill defers payment of up to $500 million of the Highway User Tax Account (HUTA) monies to cities and counties to assist state cash flow. For more information on this legislation, please see "Highway User Tax Payment Delay." . ABX3 8: Achieves one-time savings of $75 million by eliminating the practice of paying estimated mandate claims to local governments and schools and requiring payments to be made in arrears based upon the actual amounts claimed. This means that local mandate costs incurred in FY 2007-08, will be paid in FY 2009-10. ABX3 8 also delays a general fund payment to retired teachers' cost of living maintenance to achieve savings in the current year, and delays the timetable for establishing specified judgeships. FY 2008-09 Budget Prospects Looking Bleak Despite the above cuts and payment deferrals, the news on the state budget is getting worse instead of better. Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill announced on Wednesday, Feb. 20, that the state budget deficit is actually closer to $16 billion, not the $14.5 billion the Governor projected in January for the fiscal year that begins July 1. For more on the LAO's analysis please see "LAO Releases Alternative Budget Proposal." 'LAO Proposal' Continued from Page 1... A full copy of the LAO proposal can be found online at www.lao.ca.qov. A number of elements of the LAO proposal would directly impact cities. These include: . Shifting all city Proposition 172 funding ($168 million) to new special county funds to partially pay for a realignment of parole programs from the state to counties. 2