California Budget Crisis Diaries: Day 16 of the budget impasse

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California Budget Crisis Diaries: Day 16 of the budget impasse
Hoa Quach, SDNN

Yet another Friday has arrived with a budget agreement not in placed quite yet, but legislators still have hours before the weekend rolls in. Because Big 5 leaders are working together until a balanced budget plan is in place, Sacramento has become a happenin’ place with constant news. Here’s a breakdown of what has occurred since Day 14 of the budget impasse:

Unhealthy Fridays: The Healthy Families program has stopped accepting applications as of Friday. The program currently provides health care to about a million children in the state and 76,000 in San Diego County.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger actually proposed to eliminate the program completely to save the state $366 million.

In addition, Schwarzenegger has proposed to reduce funding the Medi-Cal program by at least $1 billion. Other health-care cuts for low-income families could affect up to two million people, 1.5 million of which would be children.

The unrelenting treasurer: The state’s Treasurer Bill Lockyer issued a warning to the Big 5 (Schwarzenegger and party leaders) Thursday, stating their delays would severely hurt the Golden State’s infrastructure. Lockyer said among the sectors at risk were schools, highways and levees... Read more

http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-07-17/news/california-budget-crisis-diaries-day-16-of-the-budget-impasse#ixzz0LXriI0UI