| California State Budget |
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| TAKE ACTION NOW !!! Click here to get some talking points about these issues Contact the Governor Today! Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger State Capitol Building Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: 916-445-2841 Fax: 916-445-4633 Email: http://www.govmail.ca.gov |
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Proposed Cuts to CalWORKS and SSI
Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed saving hundreds of millions of dollars in
next year's state budget by cutting programs that give aid to California’s most
vulnerable people. Governor Schwarzenegger, who is opposed to raising taxes, has
made a decision to balance the state budget on the backs of our poor, our elderly
and our children.
Below are some highlights (or lowlights) of his proposed cuts to CalWORKS and
SSI/SSP.
CalWORKS
• The Governor has proposed halting welfare payments to children if their
parents do not meet welfare to work requirements. This would penalize children
who have non power over if their parent works, goes to school etc.
• The Governor will also seek to avoid giving welfare recipients the 4 percent
raise they are due in July, his staff said. The last raise for participants in Cal-
WORKS came in 2004. Taking inflation into consideration, CalWORKS families are
actually making less today than they were in 2004.
• The Governor has also proposed cutting off aid to children of undocumented
parents after five years if their parents have not become legal residents by that
time.
SSI/SSP
• In his May revise of the state budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has
proposed to suspend the state cost of living adjustment (COLA) for the
Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) program.
The program provides combined federal (SSI) and state (SSP) cash payments to
low-income people who are seniors and/or have disabilities to help them meet their
basic needs and living expenses.
• SSI/SSP recipients were due to receive a COLA in January 2008. The governor
has decided that he would like to "suspend" the state's portion of the COLA and
use the revenue for the general fund instead. This change would result in a savings
of $184.7 million in 2007-2008 and approximately $370 million in future years. The
federal portion of the COLA will be "passed through" to recipients, which means
that grants for individuals will increase from $856 to $863 per month and for
couples from $1,502 to $1,514.
Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed saving hundreds of millions of dollars in
next year's state budget by cutting programs that give aid to California’s most
vulnerable people. Governor Schwarzenegger, who is opposed to raising taxes, has
made a decision to balance the state budget on the backs of our poor, our elderly
and our children.
Below are some highlights (or lowlights) of his proposed cuts to CalWORKS and
SSI/SSP.
CalWORKS
• The Governor has proposed halting welfare payments to children if their
parents do not meet welfare to work requirements. This would penalize children
who have non power over if their parent works, goes to school etc.
• The Governor will also seek to avoid giving welfare recipients the 4 percent
raise they are due in July, his staff said. The last raise for participants in Cal-
WORKS came in 2004. Taking inflation into consideration, CalWORKS families are
actually making less today than they were in 2004.
• The Governor has also proposed cutting off aid to children of undocumented
parents after five years if their parents have not become legal residents by that
time.
SSI/SSP
• In his May revise of the state budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has
proposed to suspend the state cost of living adjustment (COLA) for the
Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) program.
The program provides combined federal (SSI) and state (SSP) cash payments to
low-income people who are seniors and/or have disabilities to help them meet their
basic needs and living expenses.
• SSI/SSP recipients were due to receive a COLA in January 2008. The governor
has decided that he would like to "suspend" the state's portion of the COLA and
use the revenue for the general fund instead. This change would result in a savings
of $184.7 million in 2007-2008 and approximately $370 million in future years. The
federal portion of the COLA will be "passed through" to recipients, which means
that grants for individuals will increase from $856 to $863 per month and for
couples from $1,502 to $1,514.
| The time to act is NOW! Exercise YOUR RIGHT TO SPEAK UP and TO PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC DECISIONS. Call or write to Governor Schwarzenegger and tell him what you think about his budgeting strategy. |
More information about the State Budget: Step by Step Guide about the California State Budget 1 Step by Step Guide about the California State Budget 2 Step by Step Guide about the California State Budget 3 Great Budget Links: http://www.nextten.org/California_Budget_Basics.doc Next Ten California Budget Basics that gives somewhat of an overview of how the budget works and what are the different revenue and expenditure categories. This document is from 2007. http://www.nextten.org/budget/quiz/iq.php This is the 2007 Next 10 Budget Quiz. This is a great tool to test your knowledge of the California State Budget. http://www.nextten.org/budget/challenge.php# This is the Next Ten budget challenge. This is a great tool to use to help you understand how a state budget is created http://www.dof.ca.gov/Budget/Historical_Documents.asp The State of California- Department of Finance -webpage. Details proposed budget, revised budget and up to date information on how far along the budget process for the current year. You can also reference past fiscal year budgets for the state of California. http://www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/AD/Main/index.cfm This is the webpage for the Office of the County Administrator (Marin). The County Administrators office is the office responsible for the county budget. When the copy of the budget is available it will appear on this page. http://www.cbp.org/ This is the webpage for the California Budget Project. The California Budget Project engages in independent fiscal and policy analysis and public education with the goal of improving public policies affecting the economic and social well-being of low- and middle-income Californians. This website is filled with resources pertaining to the California state budget. |
California State Budget 2007-2008 Highlights
| This information is part of the Fair Budgets Education Project |