Republicans and some Democrats would not support the measure on a preliminary vote in which SB116 fell six votes short of the two-thirds majority it needs.

The Assembly had approved a similar bill, AB40X1, on Thursday with bipartisan support.

Sen. Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, said Republicans tried to work with Brown on comprehensive tax reforms six months ago, without success. He and other Republicans said the Legislature should not rush through the Democrat’s plan in the closing hours of the legislative session.

“Let’s call a special session and get it right,” Blakeslee said. Senate Minority Leader Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, had called on Brown to call such a session on California’s economy in a letter to the governor on Thursday.

Sen. Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, urged lawmakers to pass his bill without further delay.

“The rush is we need to put these families back to work. We need to get them jobs sooner rather than later,” de Leon said.

Brown’s plan calls for closing a 2009 tax loophole that benefited large, multi-state corporations by allowing them to choose between two formulas and thus, lower their tax liability in the state. He wants those companies, many of them based out of state, to follow one formula by calculating it solely on the portion of sales they have in California, which would generate an estimated $1 billion in additional revenue for the state each year.

The governor proposes to use the proceeds on tax breaks for California manufacturers and small businesses by encouraging them to buy equipment and expand in the state. He also would use some of the money to increase the standard deduction on the state income tax, which would provide more cash to more than 4 million working Californians.

Individuals would be able to claim an additional $1,000 and couples $2,000. For 2011, the standard deduction for individuals is $3,769 and $7,538 for couples.

“It’s unbelievable that so many politicians in Sacramento would choose to protect cigarette makers and out-of-state corporations to the detriment of California jobs,” Brown said in a statement as the bill stalled late Friday.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said Democrats had to put the measure into a new bill because Republicans would not agree to waive parliamentary deadlines so the Assembly-approved bill could be considered.

More than 20 bills have been introduced and as many as a dozen might be voted on this week as lawmakers face a deadline to pass bills out of their house of origin.

Because of California’s sheer size, its implementation of the new law could serve as a model for other states. The state has 8.2 million uninsured residents, nearly equivalent to the population of New Jersey. The number has ballooned in recent years as Californians lost jobs and health insurance due to the recession.

The bills seek to enact reforms signed into law by President Barack Obama in March. Among other changes, they would prohibit health insurers from denying coverage because of preexisting conditions and create an exchange through which individuals could buy insurance.

A separate bill would take state reforms further than federal requirements by making insurance companies obtain state approval before raising their fees.

The bills are considered works in progress that will change over the course of the legislative session, as the state learns more from the federal government about specific requirements in the law.

Republican lawmakers say the flurry of legislative activity is premature because upcoming elections could shift the balance of power in Congress and result in a repeal of the federal reforms. They also say the exchange, a marketplace through which individuals and small-business owners can buy health insurance at affordable rates, could lead to higher insurance rates because fees will be imposed on insurers to recoup its operational costs.

Despite resistance from members of his own party, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has made health care reform a priority. He introduced his own plan in 2007, but it failed, in part because of concerns about runaway costs to the state in future years.

The Republican governor threw his support behind the national reform plan in April, and his office has been meeting with lawmakers to work through the details.

One of the first steps is to establish an exchange. The idea is to create a consumer-friendly website that could be used to compare and buy health insurance plans, similar to the packages offered by employers.

It also would serve as a place to screen whether an individual is eligible for Medi-Cal, the state’s health insurance program for the poor, or other state services.

The state would use federal money to run the exchange. It would create a new entity to operate it or work with a nonprofit organization, said Jennifer Kent, Schwarzenegger’s deputy legislative secretary.

Under the federal law, states can decide whether their exchanges will act as tough negotiators to get the best rates for customers or play a less intrusive role in the market.

Kent said Schwarzenegger wants to have the exchange created before he leaves office in January, although it would not be fully operational until 2014.

“He really has always grasped the issue, in terms of if you don’t reform this system, because it’s so badly broken it only succeeds to be a drag on the economy,” Kent said.

Legislative leaders have introduced two bills to create the exchange.

Under SB900, the exchange would have a website and online calculator that would allow consumers to compare plans and cost, said Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-Santa Clara, who introduced the bill and is chairwoman of the Senate Health Committee.

“The goal is to get Californians enrolled in a health plan in 30 minutes or less, rather than in hours or days,” Alquist said in an e-mailed response.

Under Alquist’s proposal, the exchange would negotiate and enter into contracts with health plans. It would be run by a board whose members are appointed by the governor and Legislature.

AB1602, a similar proposal introduced by Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles, also is expected to be voted on next week. That bill would create an exchange, eliminate annual and lifetime limits on health care coverage, and raise the age for children to stay on their parents’ insurance to 26, among other provisions.

The state is closely following the example of Massachusetts, which set up its own exchange in 2006. Lawmakers and the governor’s staff have met with Jon Kingsdale, the executive director of Massachusetts Connector, that state’s health insurance exchange, who will consult with California as it develops its own version.

“He runs the largest exchange in the country, but from a scale factor, we are so going to dwarf that,” Kent said.

Still, there is plenty to be learned from Massachusetts, especially when it comes to insurance companies jacking up premiums, said Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento.

“Massachusetts thought prices would go down,” he said. “But what happened was, when people were legally required to buy insurance, insurers took advantage of that and raised their prices.”

That’s one reason Jones introduced AB2578, which would require insurance companies to obtain approval from the state Department of Insurance or the Department of Managed Health Care before raising their prices on premiums and copays. He calls it the missing piece of national health care reform.

Anthem Blue Cross proposed raising health insurance premiums by 39 percent before rescinding the increase, and Blue Shield announced an increase of up to 75 percent on small group policy holders.

“I think the public and policy makers have finally had it with these yearly double-digit health insurance and health premium increases,” Jones said.

Other bills seek to ban insurers from denying health insurance or specific treatments to patients with pre-existing conditions.

Children would be protected from this practice under a bill by Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles. AB 2244 would prohibit health insurers from excluding or limiting coverage to anyone under the age of 19 because of a pre-existing condition. It also would get tough on insurers by declaring that if a company does not sell policies to families with children, it would forfeit its right to sell insurance to large employers.

“We have an opportunity here in California … to be a catalyst for the strongest protections for kids in the nation,” Feuer said.

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Online:

The main health care bills to be considered in the Assembly and Senate this week are AB1595, AB1600, AB1602, AB1825, AB1887, AB2244, AB2470, AB2477, AB2578, SB890, SB900, SB1088 and SB1163.

http://www.assembly.ca.gov

http://www.senate.ca.gov

Friday is the last day for bills to pass their first house. About 360 measures will be up for votes starting Tuesday after lawmakers return from a Memorial Day break.

The list would have been longer had it not been for California’s $19 billion budget deficit. Appropriations committees last week derailed dozens of bills for fear the state can’t afford the associated cost.

The bills that clear their originating chamber will soon start working their way through committees in the opposite house. Bills must pass both the Senate and Assembly by Aug. 31.

The legislation is a mix, from consumer protections to paparazzi restrictions to gun controls.

Here are some of the bills scheduled for Senate votes this week:

_ The secretary of state’s official pre-election ballot pamphlet would tell voters which groups are financially backing initiatives under a bill by Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord. His SB1202 would require listing the five top contributors to each ballot measure and the amount of their contributions as of 110 days before Election Day.

_ Sports agents representing student athletes would have greater scrutiny and more restrictive contracts, under SB1098. The measure by Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, would require agents to register with the Department of Industrial Relations. Student athletes would have 14 days to opt out of contracts, and agents would have to notify the student’s school within three days of signing the document.

_ It would be tougher for local governments to file for bankruptcy under an Assembly bill that was amended in the Senate. AB155 by Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia, would require governments to go before the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission before filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. The local governments could override the commission’s recommendation.

_ California could soon set its own comfort standards for airline passengers stuck on the tarmac for more than two hours. SB1264 by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would require commercial airlines to provide passengers with food and beverages, restrooms, fresh air and lighting. The state Public Utilities Commission could fine airlines up to $27,500 per passenger for violations.

_ Customers could redeem gift certificates or gift cards for cash if the remaining value is less than $20 under a bill by Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro. Her SB885 also prohibits charging dormancy fees for unused cards. Her bill was prompted by the estimated $6.4 billion worth of gift cards that went unspent nationally in 2008.

_ Private employers would have to give employees time off to donate organs or bone marrow under SB1304. The bill by Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, would give employees of private companies the same leave rights that are available to many public employees.

_ Consumers could opt out of receiving telephone directories under a bill by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco. His SB920 would require directory publishers to put information on the cover of their directories telling recipients how they can avoid getting the printed listings in the future.

Here are some of the bills scheduled for Assembly votes this week:

_ It would be illegal to openly carry a gun in public, even if it’s unloaded, under a bill by Assemblywoman Lori Saldana, D-San Diego. The bill, AB1934, would make it a misdemeanor to carry an exposed handgun on any public street or in a public place. Saldana says unloaded guns pose a threat to public safety, in part because gun owners are allowed to carry ammunition with them. Republicans say the bill would infringe on a person’s right to bear arms.

_ Individuals convicted of illegally carrying a gun would be banned from owning a firearm for 10 years under AB2186 by Assemblyman Kevin De Leon, D-Los Angeles. De Leon says studies show that criminals convicted of firearm-related offenses are more likely to commit a violent offense. The bill would apply to individuals convicted of illegally carrying a concealed firearm in a motor vehicle, carrying a loaded firearm or permitting firearms in their vehicles.

_ A criminal’s conviction as a juvenile would no longer count toward the state’s Three Strikes law under AB1751 by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco. Ammiano says the current law discriminates against juveniles who often are not given a jury trail. Republicans say the bill would put Californians at risk by allowing the release of convicted criminals who have committed serious crimes in the past.

_ Paparazzi could be arrested for loitering outside a celebrity’s home or work place under legislation by Assemblywoman Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles. AB2479 also would make it a crime under California’s anti-stalking statute for paparazzi to participate in surveillance activities outside schools of a celebrity’s child. Bass says her bill is an effort to stem the aggressive tactics of paparazzi vying to get valuable photos and recordings of celebrities.

_ Medical marijuana storefronts would be banned within 600 feet of a school under AB2650 by Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo. Local governments that already have enacted ordinances governing the location of cooperatives and dispensaries would be exempted. Cities would be allowed to impose more stringent regulations under the bill. Medical marijuana advocates say the bill could result in the closure of dispensaries that serve thousands of ill patients.

_ Supermarket shoppers would be charged for grocery bags beginning in 2012 under legislation by Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica. AB1998 would ban grocery stores, large pharmacies and convenience stores from providing free plastic or paper bags. Only recycled paper bags made of 40 percent post-consumer material could be sold to shoppers who forget to bring their own bags. Brownley has said disposable bags are wasteful, and kill or maim marine wildlife and cost Californians more than $25 million a year to collect and truck to landfills. The California Taxpayers’ Association says disposable bags are affordable and convenient.

_ The state would have a new Department of Energy led by a cabinet head under legislation by Assemblyman Mike Villines, R-Clovis. The department would replace the California Energy Commission. AB2561 is sponsored by the Schwarzenegger administration as a way to consolidate state energy policy.

_ Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would need to win legislative approval to sell two dozen state office buildings under a bill by Assemblyman Hector De La Torre, D-South Gate. The Republican governor has promoted the sales as a way to help close California’s $19 billion budget deficit. AB2605 also would require the administration to perform a 50-year cost-benefit analysis before selling the buildings. Lawmakers have questioned whether selling and then renting back the buildings makes economic sense.

“We have a $20 million budget gap, so difficult, almost draconian, measures have to be put on the table,” explained H.D. Palmer, spokesperson for Governor Schwarzenegger’s Department of Finance.

Ironically, those cuts would come at a time when Californians need the programs most. A new report released this week from the non-profit, California Budget Project, Proposed Budget Cuts Come at a Time of Growing Need, argues that California’s economy hasn’t been weaker since the Great Depression. The 12-page report notes that Californians are ill-equipped to weather the cuts the governor is proposing.

The Golden State has lost more than a million jobs since the recession began, and it continues to lose tens of thousands of jobs every month. Six job seekers are searching for each available job. Enrollment in the state’s Food Stamp Program has increased 43%. The number of Californians receiving CalWorks welfare checks has grown by 86,000; the number enrolled in Medi-Cal has jumped by more than 470,000.

Nearly 900,000 children depend on Healthy Families, the children’s health program Schwarzenegger has proposed to eliminate. More than a half-million families depend on CalWORKS, the welfare program the governor has said needs to be scrapped.

Another program the governor wants to terminate, In Home Support Services for the elderly, disabled and blind, currently serves over 400,000 Californians, according to the state Department of Social Services.

Cutting these services could have dire consequences. For example, “If the Governor eliminates the entire IHSS, it’s going to lead to (poor, elderly people) dying alone in their apartments and SROs [single room occupancy], because in many cases the home care person is the only person who sees them,” said James Chionsini, a community organizer with the San Francisco organization, Planning for Elders in the Central City.

“It’s not even financially sound,” Chionsini said, “because the cost of home care for an entire year is cheaper than one or two trips to the emergency room,” where the old, blind and disabled will be more likely to land if IHSS is cut.

“The Governor has said he doesn’t want this to happen, which is why he’s engaged our congressional delegation and the White House” in an effort to get additional federal aid, spokesperson Palmer said.

Advocates note, however, that Schwarzenegger’s proposed cuts actually jeopardize federal matching funds that are meant to help states continue, and even expand, programs like Medi-Cal, Healthy Families and CalWORKs.

For instance, $2 billion in proposed cuts to social services could cause the Golden State to lose $5 billion from the federal budget, California Budget Project director Jean Ross said in a conference call Tuesday.

“The impact on California families and our state’s economy would be more than triple the savings in the Governor’s proposed reductions,” Ross said.

That Schwarzenegger will stick to his proposal is especially concerning in light of the federal budget announced this week by President Obama.

“There’s some good news for California in the President’s budget,” Ross said. “The President is continuing increased government’s share of the Medi-Cal program here in California. Each dollar the state spends will be more than met by the federal government.”

Palmer said he’s aware of the trade-off. “Given the fact that we have close to a $20 billion budget deficit, it’s pretty natural that we would lose some federal matching funds,” he said.

Palmer said Schwarzenegger will wait until May when the governor usually proposes his revised budget to the state legislature based on mid-year taxes collected and anticipated. At that point, if federal funds materialize, he will rescind his proposed action. Otherwise, Palmer said, “we’ll pull the trigger.”

The presumed swarm of prisoners did not come to a neighborhood near you, though, because the total number of releases was either very small, or perhaps even none.

Confused?

That’s what happens when hearsay and rumors take over in what appears to be a campaign to thwart any changes to the state’s prison system.

Beginning last year, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger attempted to save the state from bankruptcy through a dual revitalization of California’s public safety laws and the state’s penitentiary system. He submitted a plan to provide early releases for approximately 6,500 prisoners over the course of 2010. The move intended to cut the state’s jailing costs and also avoid unneeded costs for the courtroom appeals. A federal judge approved the plan, although after much debate the state legislature and the governor are still fighting over it in court.

Moreover, due to dangerous levels of over-crowding at state prisons, many public officials and lawmakers have been prompted to question the role of “parole” in the California penal system. Under the governor’s plan and the new law SB 18XXX, which came into effect January 25^th, low-level parolees would be released little by little over this year. These 6,500 low-level parolees would be subject to random search and drug testing on the streets of Los Angeles by any police officer, even without a warrant.

The plan touched off a wave of paranoia among the general public, many blogs, and some other media. Misinformation spread, and many came to believe 6,500 inmates were to be released at once on January 25. The rumors grew with incorrect reports that these newly released prisoners would be unsupervised and set completely free of all legal responsibility participant in rehabilitation programs or other parole programs.

Paul M. Weber, the president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, a union for law-enforcement officers, made a public announcement, giving the sense that the new law would be grave and disastrous for the entire Los Angeles community. He called the movement to release the prisoners “…just another example where the government has failed to do one of its primary functions, which is public safety.”

Weber’s perspective has induced many others to follow his outlook. Statements from Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development have also taken a grave tone. Little wonder that it all caught the general public flat-footed.

“What the hell,” was about all that Sarah Guidas, an undergraduate at USC, could say amid the misinformation.

Truth be told, the new law is meant to improve prison conditions and save state money for welfare, education, or public transportation. Through lessening the number of low-level prisoners, the inhumane and over-crowding prisons will become more controllable for officers and less packed with relatively small-time offenders. Parolees who were released under the old system were often returned to jail due to minor violations of technical offence, such as returning to a neighborhood that is deemed outside their parole jurisdiction. Under the new law a parolee would be allowed to return to, or travel to, any neighborhood. That means the new law would allow a parolee to return to his or her home, where he or she may have a family. Under the old system a return home might have taken a parolee to a forbidden neighborhood, leading to a parole violation sent the individual back through the court system and onto an already-overcrowded prison cell.

The misinformation about the early release of these 6,500 relatively low-level parolees has in reality created a public paranoia that is unnecessary and hurtful towards change in the state’s system.  By slowly reducing the number of parolees and low-level risk prisoners, penitentiaries will become less crowded and unneeded state spending will be saved. However, many will not see these new changes in this light. Due to heightened public anxiety and worrisome public officials, the grassroots’ truth behind these changes may not be seen.

The recession and the billions of dollars cut from public education have drastically affected public schools and colleges across the United States. Throughout the United States, the crisis has resulted in the closing of schools and libraries, loss of teachers, increased class sizes, fewer support professionals, limited supplies, cuts and elimination of art, music, and other needed programs.

In Hawaii, which ranks near bottom in national achievement, the school year has been reduced by 17 furlough Fridays in which schools will be closed.  The Superintendent, Pat Hamamoto, although agreeing that students will suffer due to less learning time, also said that the schools will try to cram in as much teaching as they can.  Hawaii students will now receive 163 instructional days compared with the 180 instructional days of other schools in the United States.

In the Inglewood Unified School District in Los Angeles County, the district’s new motto is “Do More With Less.”  Many teachers, insulted by the phrase, felt that even before the budget cut they “were doing more with less.”  As one teacher put it, we now have to “Do Everything With Nothing.”

In Los Angeles Unified School District, classroom sizes have increased.  Many schools are looking at no caps on class sizes.  Some students are already sitting on counters due to over-crowding.  Arts and music programs are suffering, and in some schools in United States, the arts have been eliminated altogether.

On the California Teacher’s Association web site, Jena Ritchey from Chula Vista Elementary School District commented on how the budget cuts are affecting her school.   “As the budget has dwindled, school supplies have gotten cheaper and cheaper: the pencils won’t sharpen, the dry erase markers stain the whiteboards….We are not providing the best, safest learning environment for our children. We ‘make do’ and we try to keep students interested and involved in learning, but it’s hard to convince students that education is important when our state doesn’t seem to value it at all.”

In his speech on education, President Obama suggested longer school days and school years to help America’s kids compete in the world.  “The future belongs to the nation that best educates its citizens,” he said. “We have everything we need to be that nation … and yet, despite resources that are unmatched anywhere in the world, we have let our grades slip, our schools crumble, our teacher quality fall short and other nations outpace us.”

While many do agree with President Obama’s speech, many also feel that the effects of the present budget crisis will not only hurt America’s students, but make it that much harder for them to compete with other nations.

Aba Ngissah is a contributer to Carib Press.