Lawmakers reach a budget deal + Child vaccine bill makes it through committee
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LAWMAKERS REACH A DEAL ON THE 2022-23 BUDGET
Via Lindsey Holden...
Californians heard the governor’s revised budget proposal in May. Now, legislative leaders have answered with their own spending priorities.
Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, on Wednesday released their own $300 billion budget agreement.
Their spending blueprint keeps some of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s items, but also deviates from his plan in a few key ways.
Atkins and Rendon continue to push for their own $8 billion gas price and inflation relief plan, which is income-limited and would give $200 to all taxpayers earning $125,000 per year, or $250,000 for joint filers. Families would also get $200 per dependent.
Newsom’s measure is focused on vehicle owners and would give drivers $400 per car, up to a total of $800. The governor has said he wants his relief targeted to the middle class, and he has also proposed grant funding to allow public transit users three months of free rides.
Legislative leaders say this plan leaves out the neediest Californians struggling with the persistently high cost of consumer goods.
Their budget would also provide funds for residents in need who don’t pay taxes and wouldn’t qualify for relief funds, including those who receive Supplemental Security Income and other monthly payments.
Those people were left out of the COVID-19 Golden State Stimulus, which was also limited to taxpayers.
With two very different plans still on the table, it remains to be seen how further negotiations will shape the relief that Newsom, Atkins and Rendon ultimately provide to Californians.
Legislators’ budget also included:
$10.9 billion for a multi-year transportation funding package
$1.6 billion for affordable housing programs.
$75 million in annual funding to “support community-based organizations to reduce health disparities and address the public health impacts of systemic racism.”
$10 million in one-time funds to “develop and promote high quality peer-to-peer mental health support programs for youth.”
“With this budget, we are spreading our state’s wealth to hard-working Californians and small businesses like never before,” Atkins said in a statement.
CHILD VACCINE BILL PASSES FINAL COMMITTEE VOTE, HEADS TO ASSEMBLY FLOOR
It’s all over but the shouting for SB 866, the bill by Sens. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, and Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, to allow children as young as 12 to get vaccinated without their parents’ consent.
The measure moves to the Assembly floor after a party-line vote in the Assembly Judiciary Committee Wednesday that featured at-times testy exchanges between Wiener and Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin.
After committee members heard lengthy public testimony, Assemblyman Kiley peppered Wiener with questions, asking whether he condemns schools for keeping unvaccinated students away from major events like prom and graduation walk (Wiener said schools are within their rights to assure the safety of everyone present), and why he settled on an age 12 cut off. (Wiener said that 12 years of age is consistent with California law for obtaining medical consent for a variety of health care services).
When asked by Kiley whether he agrees with the general rule that there should be parental consent, Wiener said that while he supports involvement of both parents and children in health care decisions,“unfortunately, we also know that there are situations, there are families, where teenagers do not feel that they have the ability or they do not feel safe talking to their parents about these issues.”
Kiley questioned Wiener about whether he believes every child should receive every available vaccine, to which Wiener responded that certain vaccines should be obtained before a child is allowed to attend school.
“OK so you didn’t answer yes, so clearly it’s not the case that necessarily every child should receive every vaccine or that every child should receive the COVID vaccine, so there is a judgment to be made in individual cases and so the question is, who is best positioned to make that judgment, the child or the parent?” Kiley asked.
Wiener said in ideal situations, the parent would be involved, but there are children in dysfunctional or abusive relationships with their parents, or situations of medical neglect, where children should be able to protect their own health.
“We had all but eradicated measles in this country. Measles are back because there are parents who refuse to vaccinate their kids. If a teenager wants to get vaccinated for measles, say the parent has homeschooled the kid and not gotten them the polio or measles vaccine, they should be able to do so and that’s why we brought this bill,” Wiener said.
Kiley said the problem is that SB 866 is a general law applicable to every situation, rather than being specific to the situations that Wiener described.
“I’ll be blunt, I think you should withdraw your bill. It barely got out of the Senate, with just 21 votes, 10 of your own Democratic colleagues did not support it, and I do not think it’s going to get out of the Assembly,” Kiley said.
Wiener replied that the state’s marriage equality bill passed both houses with the minimum required number of votes.
“So that’s not an argument to withdraw a bill,” Wiener said.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Hospitals. Classrooms. Churches. When will it stop? I am devastated for the victims and their families in Tulsa. We must act to prevent this senseless loss of life, and have the courage to protect our communities from gun violence.”
- Sen. Dave Min, D-Irvine, via Twitter.
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