SACRAMENTO-Moving to keep California’s fiscal house in order, Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. recently signed two bills that will help maintain the state’s balanced budget and vetoed a third bill that would have undermined investor confidence in California’s bonds, according to a prepared release from the State. “Job number one is protecting the integrity of our balanced budget, because it directly impacts California’s financial stability,” says Governor Brown.
Gov. Brown points out that the two bills that were signed, “provide critical revenues that will keep our budget balanced.” He adds that “I am vetoing a third bill that would have undermined investor confidence in California by altering the budget’s mechanisms for automatic trigger cuts.”
The trigger mechanisms were adopted when he signed the budget and “were essential to improving our credit standing,” according to Gov. Brown. “Indeed, our no-gimmick, on-time budget was the reason S&P assigned its highest rating to the short-term notes sold this past week—the first time that’s happened since 2007.”
According to Gov. Brown, “the bills represent a solid partnership between private business and the state to fund vital healthcare services while continuing to live within our means during these difficult economic times. They also show what the legislators can accomplish when they work together as Californians, not mere party members.”
The Governor signed SB 335 by Senator Ed Hernandez (D-Los Angeles) and Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento). The law will provide additional funds to hospitals and protect health care services for low-income, vulnerable patients and children by extending the Hospital Quality Insurance Fee. SB 335 will raise $7 billion in revenue, bring in an additional $6.1 billion in new federal funds and will save the state’s General Fund more than $850 million over a 30-month period. This amounts to over $500 million more in savings to the State General Fund than previously estimated, according to a prepared release.
Gov. Brown also signed ABX1 21 by Assemblymember Robert Blumenfield (D-Van Nuys), which extends a tax on Medi-Cal managed health care plans for an additional year. “This law will help maintain health coverage for thousands of children and teenagers through the Healthy Families Program. It will raise more than $200 million in new revenue, bring in an additional $300 million in federal funds, and save the General Fund $103 million this year,” says the prepared release.
The Governor vetoed SBX1 6 by the Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, which alters the trigger cuts mechanism in the 2011-2012 state budget. According to the release, the bill would have required the Director of the Department of Finance to consult with legislative leaders on alternatives to the cuts outlined in the budget and thereby raise questions that could affect the sales of Revenue Anticipation Notes and General Obligation bonds.
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
