The California Assembly Democratic Plan to Solve the Budget Crisis

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

In this week’s Democratic weekly radio address, Assemblymembers Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) and Alberto Torrico (D-Fremont) present the Assembly Democratic plan to solve California’s budget crisis.

You may listen in English or Spanish or read the transcript below.

Hello, this is Noreen Evans, Chair of the Assembly Democratic Caucus.

The State of California faces a tough budget season this summer. But as the saying goes, when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Assembly Democrats want to make sure that closing the budget gap doesn’t mean closing the door on common sense. We’ve presented a budget securing California’s investment in education while protecting the health of our most vulnerable Californians.

We propose restoring $2.3 billion for K-though-14 education that the Governor seeks to cut.

We also want to prevent big cuts to Medi-Cal, which is healthcare for our most vulnerable populations. Our families rely on the heroic efforts of Medi-Cal doctors, which is why we’ll be fighting to limit reductions in their reimbursement rates.

We will also protect the wages of our state’s in-home-supportive-care workers. The Governor’s proposal to reduce the wages of these extremely valuable and hardworking people to minimum wage is simply unacceptable. The many thousands of seniors and disabled who rely on these workers surely agree.

And with so many families struggling with today’s shaky economy, we must remember that children are often the first to slip through the cracks. So today, the Democratic commitment to the safety net for these kids is stronger than ever. We reject a budget that targets children’s services and foster care for cuts.

We are willing to think creatively and consider new ideas from all corners of the state. For example, we believe the Governor’s lottery lease proposal can potentially protect vital services that thousands of children in California count on. But instead of just putting increased lottery revenues into the General Fund, we want to use these revenues to pay off California’s massive debt and create a more secure future for our children.