Michael Nalepa
Vetoes for bills helping low-income Californians

California’s budget crunch is starting to affect residents who already have severe financial problems. In his final review of bills passed by the state legislature, Governor Gray Davis vetoed a bill that would have increased eligibility for Medi-Cal and another that would have provided administration funding for the Donated Dental Services Program. Davis also returned Assembly Bill 900, which would have required counties to inform physicians about reimbursement funds for unpaid medical services and localized reimbursements from those funds.

Davis vetoed dozens of bills in his final week of review. In most cases, the Governor rejected the legislation because of a revenue downturn that is $1.1 billion in the first three months of this fiscal year.

The Medi-Cal Bill, SB 833, would have expanded Medi-Cal coverage by re-defining eligibility. The bill would have cost an estimated $1 million. Under the new law, the definition of unemployed would have been based solely on the income of the principal wage earner only. The bill also called for an increase in the eligibility level to 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Both of these provisions would have allowed more families to qualify for the program, specifically two-parent families. The 2000 U.S. census estimates that there are 701,051 families with related children under 18 years old in California who are living below the poverty line.

In his veto letter to the State Senate, Davis said that other legislation recently signed into law will already provide healthcare to an additional 1.1 million Californians this year, and that the state budget shortfall prevented him from signing the bill. The Children’s Defense Fund ranks the state 45th nationally in percentage of uninsured children and estimates that 19.4 percent of children under 19 in California do not have health insurance.

Both SB 833 and SB 1041, the funding bill for the Donated Dental Services Program, were sponsored by Senator Deborah Ortiz (D-Sacramento). SB 1041 would have appropriated $125,000 from the General Fund to fund the Donated Dental Services Program under the State Department of Developmental Services. The California Dental Association and the Foundation of Dentistry for the Handicapped currently run the program, which facilitates volunteer dental services by California’s dentists. The program serves those with developmental disabilities and elderly patients who cannot afford treatment.

In his veto letter, Governor Davis again stated his previous support of measures to improve healthcare. “The 2001 Budget Act demonstrates my commitment to providing dental service to needy Californians,” he said. Davis also noted the budget shortfall as a factor in his decision not to sign the bill. “Given the rapid decline of our economy and a budget shortfall of $1.1 billion through the first three months of this fiscal year alone, I have no choice but to oppose additional General Fund spending.”

AB 900, the bill that would have notified physicians of the existence of a reimbursement fund for unpaid work and localized the payback process, was also returned without a signature. Davis stated that the bill did not undergo appropriate legislative review and that there was not enough public input for him to sign it into law. The bill was introduced by Assembly Member Louis J. Papan.

California’s low-income residents, as well as the rest of the state, could take more hits in the coming months. On October 11, Davis asked all state agencies to prepare 15 percent budget cuts for the next fiscal year. These proposals are to be submitted to Davis by October 22, and the Governor will meet with his cabinet the next day to discus the reduction proposals.