CDCAN REPORT #134-2011: State Senate & Assembly scheduled to vote on budget at 4:00PM

STATE SENATE & ASSEMBLY SCHEDULED TO VOTE ON BUDGET TODAY

4 PM Floor Sessions On Budget Scheduled - Both Houses Controlled By Democrats Expected To Easily Approve By Majority Vote Budget Agreement Reached by Governor Brown and Legislative Democratic Leaders - Governor's Support on Adult Day Health Care Partial Budget Restoration and Budget Trailer Bill Not Clear

SACRAMENTO, CALIF (CDCAN)  [Last updated 06/28/2011  10:54 AM] -  Both the State Senate and the Assembly will convene  floor sessions late this afternoon at 4:00 PM to vote and pass on a majority vote, the budget agreement for that was reached yesterday by Governor Jerry Brown with the Legislature's two Democratic leaders, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (Democrat - Sacramento) and Assembly Speaker John Perez (Democrat - Los Angeles).  The Governor said yesterday that he was giving up on trying to get the needed two votes in both the Assembly and State Senate from Republicans in order to pass his tax extension proposals.

The action by the Legislature and Governor will come just days before the start of the 2011-2012 State Budget year that begins July 1st.

The floor sessions will be televised live on CalChannel (check your local cable listings for channel) and also streamed live on the CalChannel website at www.calchannel.com

A revised main budget bill, and several budget related bills (called budget trailer bills) will be taken up - though it is not clear yet which house will vote first on the plan.  Barring a surprise, the budget plan is expected to pass easily by a majority vote in both houses (at least 41 votes in the 80 member Assembly and at least 21 votes in the 40 member State Senate.  Democrats hold 52 seats in the Assembly and 25 seats in the Senate - two short in both houses of the "super majority" or 2/3rds that is needed to approve tax increases and to place measures for voter approval on a regular or special election ballot.

The main revised budget bill would then be delivered immediately to Governor Brown who could sign it as early as today after the Legislature approves it.

The Legislature will likely send the budget related bills in the next several days - includinng several it passed on June 15th but did not send to the Governor after he vetoed the main budget bills on June 16th.  Among the budget trailer bills are three closely watched budget trailer bills - one dealing with Adult Day Health Care and two dealing with the elimination and continuation (in a different form) of redevelopment agencies.

Budget Agreement Does Not Have Tax Extensions - But Does Include New Revenues

As previously reported, the budget deal reached yesterday  by-passes the need for Republican votes in either house and will not contain the Governor's proposals to extend for five years the 2009 temporary tax increases scheduled to expire June 30, 2011 but instead counts on $4 billion more in revenues that he hopes California will bring in next year.  The agreement will mean that there will be no special election in 2011 and that any proposal to increase taxes for voters to decide will be placed on the November 2012 general election ballot by petition rather than by a 2/3rds vote of the Legislature that would require at least 2 Republican votes in the State Senate and the Assembly (assuming all Democrats voted for it).

However the budget deal does contain - as did the Democratic version passed on June 15th did - some increases in revenues including raising fees for registering vehicles with the Department of Motor Vehicles, imposing the existing use tax on online companies reaching a certain threshold in sales (referred to as the "Amazon tax") that Democrats said does not need 2/3rds vote for approval.   Legislative Republicans in both houses strongly objected to that claim saying increases in fees and taxes requires 2/3rds vote.

The budget agreement reached on Monday does not contain any new additional spending cuts to health and human services beyond what was passed by the Legislature and approved by the Governor in March, and beyond what the Legislature passed on June 15th (those budget trailer bills have not been sent to the Governor yet).

However the budget agreement does contain two "triggers" that would be pulled if the Governor's Department of Finance determines in January 2012 whether the higher projected level of $4 billion in  new revenues are actually coming into the State as budgeted.  If the funding falls short - one or two "triggers" would be pulled that would automatically implement mid-year cuts of more than $2.5 billion in State general fund spending including $200 million in health and human services (the bulk - $1.9 billion would come from K-12 education).  See CDCAN Report later today after the vote by the Assembly and State Senate for more details on the budget agreement for the 2011-2012 State budget year that begins July 1st.

Not actually in the main budget bill or budget trailer bills is the Governor's intention to move forward to place the issue of raising taxes for voter approval via petition (gathering sufficient number of signatures) for the November 2012 general election ballot.

Governor's Support on Adult Day Health Care Proposal Passed by Legislature Not Clear

It is not clear from the budget agreement reached yesterday whether or not the Governor will support the :Legislature's restoration of partial funding for Adult Day Health Care centers and a separate budget trailer bill that deals with getting federal government approval for the creation of a new model of Adult Day Health Care.

A class action federal lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Oakland earlier this month to block the elimination of Adult Day Health Care unless the State can demonstrate that the over 34,000 people with disabilities and seniors in the program receiving services will not be harmed and their rights under federal law not violated. The federal court has not yet acted on the lawsuit's request or motion to at least temporarly stop the cut from moving forward. Meanwhile the federal Centers on Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that oversees nationwide the Medicare and Medicaid programs , is expected this week its response to California's formal request to eliminate Adult Day Health Care as a Medicaid (Medi-Cal) benefit.  The request was made in a proposed amendment to California's Medicaid State Plan.