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8A Page 20 'Budget Dynamics' Continued from Page 1... The Assembly Budget Subcommittee #4 voted to fund the Citizen Option for Public Safety (COPS) and the Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention program at the level proposed in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget of $214 million ($107 million for each). This amount reflects the Governor's proposed across-the- board 10 percent cuts. However, the subcommittee voted along party lines (Democrats-Yes, Republicans-No) to drastically reduce the proposed funding for rural sheriffs and Booking Fees. The Governor's January and May budgets propose to support these programs at 10 percent less than the FY 2007-08 levels at $17 million for rural sheriffs and $32 million for Booking Fees. The subcommittee, however, reduced the proposed amounts allocated to each of these programs to a token amount of just $1,000 each. While this action continues to allow the funding levels for these programs to be revisited by the full Budget Conference Committee, the signal the Democrats are sending to Republicans suggests that if additional revenues are not part of the final budget solution, vital public safety programs could be sacrificed. In a similar move, the actions of the Senate Budget Subcommittee #4 on May 8 were much more drastic. They, along partisan lines, voted to entirely eliminate funding from the budget for COPS, Booking Fees and other local public safety programs from the Senate's version of the budget. Thus, the combined action of these two committees communicates that local public safety funds are clearly emerging as a pawn in the budget dynamics. Safe Act Another piece of the budget public safety dance involves the "Safe Neighborhoods Act: Stop Gang, Gun and Street Crime," for which signatures were submitted on April 25. As of May 29, the measure had yet to qualify. The initiative would secure an annual appropriation from the General Fund for significant state and local public safety programs. It would also require local government funding to be maintained at same or greater levels indefinitely. While many Democrats support public safety programs, the actions taken by the two Budget Subcommittees #4 also suggest that political positioning over this initiative has begun. The League has not taken a position on the Safe Neighborhoods Act. City officials are encouraged to delay any action on it until it qualifies and the League finishes an analysis of the measure. The League reported on this initiative in the May 23 issue of Priority Focus (http://www.cacities.orq/resource files/26823.mav23.pdf). Please see the article titled "Safe Neighborhoods Act Targeted for November 2008 Ballot." Next Steps The work of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee #4 is now done. The Senate Budget Subcommittee #4 is expected to conclude its business next week. Once all of the budget subcommittees have finished their work, the action will move to the full budget committees of each house. Following that, the Senate and Assembly will appoint a budget conference committee to reconcile differences between the two houses. Also to be expected are meetings among legislative leadership and the Governor which may inject other ideas into the mix. Take Action! The League urges city officials to communicate to their legislators the importance of supporting public safety funding at the levels proposed by the Governor. Public safety funding is extremely vulnerable and will remain so because of the "hostage taking" actions by the budget subcommittees and the introduction of the Safe Neighborhoods Act. A complete list of each house's budget committees is included below. 2