June, 2005
My thanks to all of those readers that contacted me regarding the Governor's proposal to eliminate the State's share of cost for the wages of IHSS providers. It's wonderful to know there are people out there who care about this program and the people with disabilities and seniors that it serves. You may recall that this proposal would reduce wages for IHSS providers to minimum wage (currently $6.75 an hour) and provide no State funding for health benefits.
Advocates across the State were hoping the Governor would not include this proposal in his May Revise of the Budget, especially after both houses of the Legislature voted to reject it, but unfortunately it is still on the table.
Likewise, the Legislature rejected the Governor's proposal to withhold the January 2006 federal Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary payment (SSI/SSP) programs.
His proposal to withhold the January 2006 state COLA is before the two-house Budget Conference Committee, since while the Senate rejected the COLA suspension; the Assembly took no action on the proposal. According to information provided by the California Budget Project, suspending the State COLA would reduce State spending by $131.9 million in 2005-2006, and the State has suspended, delayed, or reduced these grants in 11 out of the past 16 years.
The Budget Conference Committee is composed of members of the Senate and Assembly who are charged with reconciling any differences between the Senate and Assembly versions of the budget bill. While technically, this Committee is only supposed to review budget items that the two houses disagreed on, like the suspension of the State SSI/SSP COLA mentioned above,... in recent years even actions that both houses have agreed on have resurfaced in Conference Committee.
If you were hoping for a quick resolution to these issues and the Budget in general, I wouldn't hold my breath. There are quite a few issues that remain to be resolved, not the least of which include education funding, potential tax increases, and what budget issues will go to the ballot as a result of the Governor's plan for a statewide election. It's going to be a long, hot summer.... For more information on the State Budget log on to the California Budget Project at www.cbp.org