California PTA Legislation Conference report

By Celia Jaffe, Vice President for Advocacy,
Fourth District PTA

The California State PTA Legislative Conference was three days of listening to speakers, interacting with State PTA advocates, meeting PTA folks from around the state, and talking with our legislators. It was very worthwhile…and exhausting!

Below are some brief takes on topics from the conference. Feel free to contact me for further information at advocacy@fourthdistrictpta.org.

The State Budget
On Feb. 20, the California legislature passed a revised budget for the current year combined with a budget for the 2009-2010 year. It was signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Political Reality
Lawmakers from both parties earn credit from their constituencies for the delay in passing the budget: Democrats for resisting deeper cuts to programs and Republicans for holding out against taxes. In the final product, Democrats decided how cuts would look; Republicans decided where new revenues would come from.

The Prospect of Additional Cuts for 2009-10
Though it is touted as a 1½-year budget, additional budget actions in a “June revise” are a strong possibility. If any of the measures set for the May 19 special election fail, and/or if revenues fall short of forecasts, a new budget shortfall will exist and require legislative action to solve.

The May 19 Special Election
The recently signed budget relies on money from passage of several measures in a special election scheduled for May 19.

• Measure 1A would establish a new spending cap (exempting Prop. 98) and Budget Stabilization Account.
• Measure 1B would call for repayment to Prop. 98 of over $9 billion to settle a dispute over whether a maintenance factor is created by this year’s low funding.
• Measure 1C would authorize borrowing $5 billion in 2009-10, to be paid back from Lottery revenues in following years, holding education harmless by repaying Prop. 98 the average Lottery income amount.
• Measure 1D would temporarily redirect money from Prop. 10/First 5 California revenues to the general fund.
• Measure 1E would temporarily redirect money from Prop. 63/ Mental Health funds to the general fund.
• Measure 1F would prohibit raises for state legislators during a deficit year.

For additional impartial information on these measures, see the website of the Legislative Analyst’s Office (www.LAO.ca.gov) or the California Secretary of State (www.SOS.ca.gov).

Proposed Legislation
Because of the focus on the budget crisis, fewer bills than usual have been proposed. Bills that are supported by PTA include:

• AB 8 (Brownley) Calling for a working group from the Department of Finance and the Legislative Analyst Office to explore alternatives to the current structure of funding school districts.
• SCA 6 (Simitian) Calling for a reduction of the vote to pass local parcel taxes from 66% to 55%.