Ranker’s Report: Senate Budget Cuts Demand a Look at Unpaid Taxes and Loopholes

Dear neighbors,

Last week the Senate released its Operating Budget proposal. With no new federal funds, no new revenue sources and no ability to close tax loopholes, our hand has been forced to construct an all-cuts budget that reduces the state budget by over $5 billion.

The Senate’s approach however, is to use the economic downturn as an opportunity to put our state on more sound fiscal footing by writing a budget that is within our means. We are obligated to balance the budget – and we will.

Vital and valued services will be cut. Many of these are public services that are most important to our communities – like public education, public safety and health care.

Last night, the Senate passed its version of the 2011-2013 operating budget. And for the first time in recent memory, we did so on a truly bipartisan basis.

I voted yes for the budget, but did not do so lightly. Detailed below are the many tough choices we had to make – many of which will have an adverse impact on our communities.

In it we have tried to be thoughtful in our process – but being thoughtful requires close examination of every option available – including those that have not been discussed as much as they should be.

As you will see later in this update, I believe strongly that the cuts we are facing, and the impacts they will have demand immediate evaluation of the billions of dollars in unpaid taxes and tax loopholes currently on the books.

Health

In the past two years, our state’s Basic Health Program has been cut from more than 100,000 working families to about 34,000. Under the Senate’s plan, new enrollment is temporarily frozen and capped. Apple Health for Kids is proposed to be cut by more than 20,000 children, and co-payments to low income families will be increased.  As proposed, Disability Lifeline will keep medical coverage, but eliminate housing and food assistance.

In long term care, the biggest cut is about $100 million in reduced hours of care for individuals who receive home health care services. These cuts will be based on the level of need for personal assistance for activities of daily living such as bathing and medication management.

State Employees

Under the Senate’s proposal, state employees will face a 3% cut in salary and higher paid state employees will also have additional unpaid furlough days. Premiums for health care coverage will also be increased for state employees.

Education

In education, funding to reduce class size under Initiative 728 programs is up for elimination. Teacher and classified staff salaries are proposed to be cut 3%, saving around $300 million, and a change in the attendance policy payment will save another $95 million. Two bright spots – we were able to direct some funding for lower class sizes in kindergarten through third grade in elementary schools with high poverty rates. We also secured an increase in the early childhood education program.

In higher education, we are cutting budgets by about 25%, and then allowing tuition increases to offset many of those cuts. We tried to mitigate those tuition increases as much as possible through an increase in financial aid to students and by saving the work-study program from elimination. Higher education employees will be subject to the 3% salary reduction applying to all state employees.

Parks

In the natural resources area, a new annual park pass will be sold for access to our state parks. I sponsored this proposal and am committed to seeing it passed.

The annual pass will cost about $30 a year, and the fee will be waived for volunteers who work at least 24 hours in our state parks. Without this legislation, we will witness widespread closure of state parks and other public recreational lands.

(Ranker’s report on the budget will be included in an accompanying article).