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Legislative
News Alert #3
March 28, 2002
California Church IMPACT
2715 K Street, Ste. D., Sacramento, CA 95816
www.calchurches.org e-mail IMPACTinfo@calchurches.org
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Vehicle Licensing Fee Rollback - Help for California’s
Budget Crisis
Assemblymember Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) has introduced AB
1753 as the "trigger mechanism" that would temporarily
suspend the Vehicle License Fee (VLF) rebate approved by the State
Legislature in 1998. The original rebate legislation called for
rebates on the vehicle fees unless the budget had "insufficient
revenues". Because that is not defined, Assemblymember Migden's
bill will acknowledge the current deficit and serve as the trigger
for halting the rebate. The VLF is a 2% per year tax on vehicle
value established by purchase price then a statutory depreciation.
Since $4 billion in VLF revenues went to local governments, the
rebate led the state to "backfill" those revenues from
the general fund. When the budget crisis occurred, the state made
up its losses with cuts in state-level programs to children, senior
citizens, the working poor, schools, and even hospital emergency
rooms. Reinstitution of the VLF could help close the budget gap
for the state and assure that some of the necessary programs remain
funded during the crisis.
California Church Impact strongly supports AB 1753! Please write
your Assemblymember and State Senator in support of AB 1753.
Senator
Burton Does the Unthinkable - SB 1255 Rescinds the Tax Cut for the
Wealthy
This bill sponsored by Senator John Burton (D-San Francisco) would
add two tax rates above the current maximum of 9.3% for the wealthiest
Californians. These tax rate increases would be temporary, in effect
only so long as there is a budget crisis. By reinstating the two
additional tax rates as was done in the 1990s crisis, the state
would generate approximately $2.3 billion to help preserve important
programs in health, human services, and education among others.
The top tax rates would affect joint filers earning over $176,950
but less than $353,899 who would move to a 10% rate. For those earning
over $353,899, the rate for earnings to that amount would be 10%
and for earnings over that amount they would pay 11%. This bill
requires a two-thirds vote.
California Church Impact strongly supports SB 1255! Please write
your State Senator and Assemblymember in support of SB 1255.
Care
for CARE funding.
The energy crisis affected virtually every household in California,
inflicting blackouts and brownouts as well as higher utility bills.
Poor households, those on low- or fixed-income, paid a vastly disproportionate
share of their income in energy. The average home pays 2.9% in energy
costs, but low-income households pay 10%. This meant that families
had to make critical choices between heating or cooling their homes
and paying for other essentials such as food, medicine, education,
etc. The state enacted legislation in 2001 providing $58 million
for California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE). These funds were
to underwrite a program offering low-income households a one-time
rebate on their energy costs. CARE would be distributed through
utilities, and the state funds would repay those costs to the utility
companies. However, in the revised emergency budget, these funds
were cut leaving costs of CARE on ratepayers alone. While Senator
Burton has restored $30 million of the $58 million to be distributed
through a federal program for low-income families, both the amounts
and the processes of distribution are unsure. Since Sen. Burton's
proposal will face opposition within the legislature
Please write your State Senator, Assemblymember and Governor Davis
urging that the CARE funding be restored in then State Budget.
Keep
California Healthy! SB 1567.
There are large numbers of health-related programs facing serious
cuts. Governor Davis proposes to move children from several programs
requiring no qualifications for participation to those that do.
In addition, the state medical and welfare-support programs all
demand extensive application processes and confusing, repetitive
paperwork. Senator Wesley Chesbro (D-Arcata) has introduced SB 1567
to eliminate the assets test as part of determining eligibility
for participation in Medi-Cal health programs. This removes a large
but unnecessary barrier to enrollment for hundreds of thousands
of Californians; it streamlines the bureaucracy while cutting red
tape and will save $4.25 million for taxpayers that can be directed
to other worthy but underfunded health programs. It also eases the
stigma among families participating in Medi-Cal and permits them
health access without humiliation. California Church Impact strongly
supports SB 1567.
Please write
your State Senator and Assemblymember in support of SB 1567.
An Important
Notice! Call for a time out on executions!
Mark your calendars and plan to attend the First Annual Moratorium
Day in Sacramento on May 1st. Ed Asner and other special guests
will join Death Penalty Focus and Californians for a Moratorium
on Executions for a Noon march from the courthouse to the capitol,
where we will hold a rally and deliver 75,000 moratorium petition
signatures to Governor Davis. To sign the petition online and get
more information, check www.californiamoratorium.org <http://www.californiamoratorium.org/>
or call 415-243-0143. Church leaders and parishioners are particularly
encouraged to bring contingents and signs. Moratorium Day L.A. will
take place on May 2nd, where there will be a special evening gathering
with Mike Farrell, Ed Asner, and friends. Check the web site for
details or call 213-637-7402.
For more information
on bills, please see our web site, www.calchurches.org and click
on legislative updates. For general information concerning your
senators see www.se.ca.gov and for assembly www.assembly.ca.gov.
From these two sites you can obtain backgrounds on your legislators,
their office numbers and addresses, and their current emails if
they have them.
Thank you!
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