PRESS RELEASE: Senate Leader Applauds Budget Trailer Bill Package, Which Provides Needed Amendments, Updates to Budget Act
SACRAMENTO – The California State Senate on Friday passed amendments to the state budget that will generate $1.7 billion to fund Medi-Cal, create financing tools local municipalities can use for housing and infrastructure projects, ratify collective bargaining agreements with several of the state’s largest labor unions, and make important technical updates, such as allocating funds to keep patients and providers safe at health centers that provide abortion services.
“There is a massive amount of detailed, finely-tuned work that went into crafting these budget bills, which will have a lasting impact on our state and residents,” said Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins. “Thank you to Senator Holly J. Mitchell and the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review for their analysis and thorough deliberations about these important issues, from the highly technical to the highly anticipated. Their careful consideration and crafting of these bills is sincerely appreciated.”
Specifically, the bundle of bills impact the Budget Act of 2019 and include updates to budgetary agreements on state and local government, housing, education finance, Medi-Cal funding, state bargaining units, and social services.
Highlights include:
- AB 109 – The bill makes technical and meaningful changes to the Budget Act.
- This includes $10 million from the General Fund for the California Health Center Security Grant Program, which will help health centers that provide abortion services and may be the targets of violence and vandalism. The goal is to keep patients and providers safe at these health centers, which include Planned Parenthood clinics.
- The bill also provides $206.1 million in bond funds for the design-build phase of the Salton Sea Species Conservation Habitat project, which will construct habitat crucial to restoring wildlife within the Salton Sea.
- The bill also re-appropriates $10.6 million in Proposition 98 funds for various community college programs, amends funding for the Migrant Education Program to cover the cost of federal funding shortfalls, shifts CalWORKs Stage 3 child care funding in a way that has a net zero impact on state child care programs, and provides funding for local municipalities to address specific needs, including homelessness, flood relief, and emergency communications equipment.
- AB 115 – The health trailer bill assesses a tax on managed care organizations (MCOs) operating in California to fund health care services within the Medi-Cal program. The revenue can supplement the non-federal share of spending for health care services, thus allowing the state to draw down additional federal funding for those services. Implementation of the tax, which will be deposited into a new ‘Health Care Services Special Fund’ managed by the Department of Health Care Services, would generate $1.7 billion in 2019-20.
- AB 116 – The bill modifies the tools local governments have to finance public works, housing, and other infrastructure projects. Specifically, it authorizes Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts (EIFDs) to issue debt without voter approval, and requires that an EIFD hold three public hearings prior to issuing debt and/or an election for voter approval of the proposed debt issuance if between 25 and 50 percent of eligible landowners and residents in the EIFD protest during the hearings.
- AB 118 – The bill, which impacts 13 of the state’s collective bargaining units, makes statutory changes and implements memoranda of understanding (MOUs) regarding salary and benefits of state workers represented by SEIU 1000, California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers in State Employment (CASE), California Association of Highway Patrolmen (CAHP), California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA), and the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE). The bill approves MOUs between the state and nearly 120,000 full-time equivalent employees.
“This set of bills completes the budget package for the fiscal year and addresses pressing concerns like the MCO tax, providing additional funding to protect assets in our state and address local emergency response needs,” said Senator Holly J. Mitchell, Chair of the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review. “I’d like to thank everyone who worked hard in helping us finish a budget that continues to make investments and build programs critical to communities throughout California.”
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Toni G. Atkins is President pro Tempore of the California Senate. Having previously served as Speaker of the California Assembly, she began her tenure in the Senate in 2016. As Senator for District 39, she represents the cities of San Diego, Coronado, Del Mar and Solana Beach. Website of President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins: www.senate.ca.gov/Atkins