Bay Area Reporter - December 4, 2008
Matthew S. Bajko, m.bajko@ebar.com

As the new crop of legislators took their oaths of office December 1, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was declaring a fiscal emergency and ordered the lawmakers to remain in the Capitol for a special session to deal with an $11.2 billion budget shortfall the previous batch of legislators failed to address before the end of their terms last month.

"Without immediate action our state is headed for a fiscal disaster and that is why with more than two dozen new legislators sworn in today - I am wasting no time in calling a fiscal emergency special session," said Schwarzenegger. "We must act now to address the current year revenue shortfall of $11.2 billion and we must implement an economic stimulus package to help retain and create jobs, keep Californians in their homes and fix the state's unemployment insurance fund."

In the state Senate, out lesbian Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) will play a key role in leading California out of its economic morass. Newly sworn-in Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) named Kehoe chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.

The body has jurisdiction over all discretionary spending legislation in the Senate. Kehoe succeeds Tom Torlakson, who recently left the Senate because of term limits but won an Assembly seat representing parts of Contra Costa County.

"It's an honor to be named to this post and I look forward to working with Senator Steinberg," stated Kehoe. "Our state faces many challenges and I am committed to reducing California's budget deficit and getting our economy back on track."

The economic turmoil weighed heavy on the minds of the Legislature's newest gay members, Democratic Assemblymen John Perez of Los Angeles and Tom Ammiano of San Francisco. Perez called the budget deficit "unprecedented" but vowed to carry on the advocacy for AIDS funding that termed-out openly gay Assemblyman John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) and other lawmakers had ma

"Losing John Laird is huge. I want to pick up the mantle they were carrying," said Perez, who served on President Bill Clinton's advisory council on HIV and AIDS policy for four years. "People have to put pressure on me and everybody else up here. We need to make this epidemic real to folks and get them to understand how broad-based it is. It has got to be a top priority for the state."

With their welcome to the state Capitol coinciding with observances for World AIDS Day, lawmakers cautioned that the budget ax would likely fall on funding for social service agencies.

"I don't think anybody, including AIDS organizations, will be held harmless," said Perez. "The community needs to step up and help backfill these cuts."

Openly gay state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) said he is hopeful that cuts to AIDS and HIV services can be avoided.

"We will be successful here if we can hold on to the current funding. But there won't be any augmentation," said Leno.

Over the next 18 months, preliminary estimates from the Legislative Analyst's office show the state's budget deficit reaching $28 billion. Schwarzenegger used his powers under Proposition 58 to require the Legislature to pass and send a bill or bills within 45 days to his desk addressing the state's budget crisis. If the 45 days pass and the Legislature has not passed bills to address the problem, it cannot adjourn or act on other bills until the state's fiscal emergency is addressed.

"I look forward to working with the Legislature in attacking these problems head on, making the difficult choices and working together for the common good and future of the state of California," said Schwarzenegger.

Newly sworn-in Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) also was quick to turn attention to the state's fiscal mess in her remarks to the newly seated Assembly members Monday afternoon. She called on both Democrats and Republicans to put their "ideologies aside" in order to come up with a budget plan that would work "for the people of California."

"Members, in ordinary times we would organize the Assembly today, take our oaths, celebrate with our colleagues, and then return to the Capitol in January. But these are not ordinary times. Our state continues to be rocked by the deepening national recession and the ongoing global economic turmoil. Foreclosures and unemployment are still going up. Revenue is still going down. Our projected deficit is growing, and the cash we need on hand is disappearing," said Bass. "As the circumstances warrant the governor will call a special session and we will need to continue addressing the crisis this week."

Leaders of the Senate and Assembly have called for a joint session of both chambers for a briefing on the state's current economic situation and looming cash crisis with state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, Controller John Chiang, and Department of Finance officials.

The California Economic Recovery Task Force is expected to issue its report this month on what policies lawmakers can institute to stimulate California's economy. A bipartisan Commission on the 21st Century Economy has until April 15 to issue its own recommendations on how to modernize the state's outdated revenue system.

Bass also announced she had appointed Assemblyman Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate) to chair the new Assembly Accountability and Administrative Review Committee, which will look for ways state agencies can cut expenditures and save taxpayer money.

"But this year all of us - Democrats and Republicans - will face the challenge of acknowledging our ideology ... acknowledging all those commitments and pledges we made during our campaign," said Bass. "We face the challenge of acknowledging this then taking a real hard objective look at the crisis we face. And then we face the challenge of putting our ideology aside and doing what we need to do for California."

081204
BR081202

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2008. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2008. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .