ANALYSIS OF THE GOVERNOR’S MAY REVISION OF THE 2007-2008 STATE BUDGET PROPOSAL
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger released his May Revision to the 2007-08 State budget proposal on May 14th. The “May Revise” is a revision of the Governor’s January proposal and includes updated expense and revenue information for the state. There are five key items that will affect the Southeast Asian community in California:
1. The Governor proposes increased spending for Limited English Proficient (LEP) communities in California in education, but not in civil courts. Approximately 59% of Southeast Asians in California are LEP. LEP parents will benefit from the proposed re-appropriation of $500,000 for statewide translations of educational notices from school districts. There are no proposed cuts to the CA Department of Education’s Clearinghouse of Multilingual Documents. This clearinghouse allows for schools to share translated educational materials with other schools so that these may be distributed to LEP parents. There are no funds allocated to provide interpreters in civil courts, only criminal courts.
2. The Governor proposes to cut $123.6 million in funding and eliminates $315 million in cash assistance to the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKS) program. Nearly 200,000 children in the CalWORKS program will be affected. Hmong, Cambodian, and Laotian have the highest poverty rates in California among the Asian Pacific American community. A new shorter time limit for parents to find work has been proposed as well as imposing sanctions on children whose parents did not meet specified requirements. The cost of living adjustment (COLA) for CalWORKS is also proposed to be suspended. Included in the cuts is a $16 million reduction of CalWORKS county employment and childcare services.
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3. Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Program (SSI/SSP) COLA will be suspended under this budget proposal. SSI/SSP grants help 1.2 low-income seniors and disable persons meet the basic living expenses. The costs of housing, transportation, food, etc. are on the rise, this will force more low-income elderly individuals and people with disabilities deeper into poverty. Of the 14% of Asian Pacific American SSI/SSP recipients, 22% are Southeast Asian in California.
4. The wages and benefits for caretakers as part of the In Home Supportive Services (IHSS), a program to assist the low-income elderly and disabled, will remain the same at $11.10 per hour. By freezing the wage and benefits, the state is expected to save $14.1 million.
5. Included in the proposal is an increase of $37.7 million in Medi-Cal program spending. The proposal also includes $25.2 in state funding to implement the federal Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) which requires states to verify the identity and citizenship status of Medi-Cal beneficiaries.
For a comprehensive analysis of the Governor’s May Revise of the 2007-08 state budget proposal, visit these websites: California Department of Finance California Legislative Analyst's Office California Budget Project