Calendar of Key Events
* Joint Budget Conference Committee To Hold First Meeting June 2
* Legislative Committees Meet This Week on other Legislation
* 11th Disability Rights Townhall Telemeeting Rescheduled for 6/10

SACRAMENTO  - The state budget process moves into its second critical phase this week, with the first meeting of the joint budget committee - called a "conference committee", scheduled for Wednesday morning, June 2, at 9:30 AM at the State Capitol in Room 4203. Also scheduled this week are:
* Legislative Policy Committee Hearings - Also scheduled for hearings this week are legislative policy committees in both houses considering other legislation that impact people with developmental and other disabilities and also seniors.  See CDCAN Capitol Report #100-2004 for details about hearings this week.
* Townhall Telemeeting - The 11th Disability Rights Townhall Telemeeting scheduled for Friday morning, June 4, has been rescheduled to June 10th, Thursday afternoon at 1 PM to allow more time for updates on what the budget conference committee did.  See the CDCAN website or CDCAN Capitol Report #101-2004 for details.

The conference committee, chaired this year by Sen. Wes Chesbro (D-Arcata, 2nd District), who also chairs the full Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee will begin work on resolving any differences between the actions taken by the Senate and Assembly on Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed budget for 2004-2005.    Conference Committee meetings are scheduled for June 2 through 11th (Friday), though only Wednesday June 2nd has a specific time scheduled.  All other times are upon the "call of the chair" - meaning, the chair of the committee - in this case, Sen. Chesbro, will determine when the next hearings are.  All hearings are open to the public, but no public testimony is taken.  The constitutional deadline to pass a budget is June 15 - a date the Legislature has only rarely met in the last 30 years, however the real deadline however is June 30th - the last day of the state's budget year, with the new fiscal year beginning on July 1.

Much of the work on hammering out a budget deal will be done behind the scenes among the "Big Five": Governor Schwarzenegger, Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco, 3rd District), Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles, 46th District), Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman (R-Irvine, 33rd District) and Assembly Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield, 32nd District).

What the Conference Committee Will Do
* The joint committee is a normal part of the budget process, and is supposed to work out only those budget issues where both houses did not agree on an action.  Where both houses agreed on a budget issue - such as rejecting the Governor's proposal that would have the impact of rolling back wages of In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) workers, would in theory, not be an issue for the joint budget conference committee.  However in recent years, the conference committee has permitted the Governor to request reconsideration of issues that both houses previously agreed on.  It is not certain what issues - if any - the conference committee will permit the Schwarzenegger Administration to be reconsidered.  Outstanding issues where actions differed between the two houses include [a full report on all budget issues will be reported later today in a CDCAN Capitol Report]:
* In-Home Supportive Services: Quality Assurance Initiative [note: houses differed on budget related language and also cuts/savings attributed to the quality assurance program)
* Regional Center Budget for Community-Based Services (Purchase of Services)  [houses differed on the amount of the "unallocated reduction" to this budget, though agreed on rejecting the proposed statewide standards]
* Regional Center Budget for Operations [houses differed in their actions; Assembly rejecting the the Governor's proposed $6.5 million cut, the Senate approving it]
* Agnews Developmental Center Closure Issues ($11.1 million to transition 200 Agnews residents to Sonoma Developmental Center as proposed by Governor)  [note: both houses rejected the Governor's proposal, but differed in specifics in using the funding for community placement or other community options instead of temporary transfers to Sonoma]
* The issue regarding IHSS "residual program" should not be a part of the conference committee agenda, except for the details of the budget related legislative language that needs to be worked out to assure that the program continues no matter what aciton the federal government takes on the proposal for federal matching funds submitted by the Schwarzenegger Administration, and that eligibility and benefits remain exactly the same.

Other issues, including the Governor's proposals for SSI/SSP reductions, rollback of IHSS worker wages, elimination of IHSS Public Authorities and advisory committees were rejected in both houses earlier and technically are not part of the conference committee agenda - though the Schwarzenegger Administration could request that the committee reconsider those actions.
No actions taken in either house, or taken in the conference committee is final until both house pass the final version of the budget and related legislation AND the Governor signs it into law.

Budget Conference Committee Members
Each house appoints 3 members each to the joint committee (2 Democrats, 1 Republican from both houses):
Senate Members: The Senate has not yet officially appointed its members, though Sen. Chesbro is definitely chairing the committee this year. The other members from the Senate were reported to be Sen. Dede Alpert (D-San Diego, 39th District), also chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Sen. Ross Johnson (R-Irvine, 35th District).  Both Alpert and Johnson are in their last year in office due to term limits.  Johnson is a former Republican leader in both the Assembly and Senate.  The members (except for Chesbro) from the Senate could change, and won't be announced most likely until Tuesday, June 1.  Chesbro has had several years serving on budget conference committees - though this is the first year he will actually chair it.  Johnson - if he is appointed - has been involved in previous years in high level budget discussions when he was previously the Assembly Republican Leader (1988-1991) with then Assembly Speaker Willie Brown; and as Senate Republican Leader from 1998 to 2000.   Alpert has never served on a budget conference committee before.  Sen. Dick Ackerman (R-Irvine, 33rd District) most likely will not serve as a conference committee member due to his elevation as Senate Republican Leader earlier this month, succeeding Sen. Jim Brulte (R-Rancho Cucamonga, 31st District), who is being forced out of office at the end of this year due to term limits.
Assembly Members:  The Assembly also has not yet officially announced its appointments, but the members are certain to be Assemblymember Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento, 9th District), also chair of the Assembly Budget Committee and in his last year in office due to term limits; Assemblymember Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park, 49th District), also chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, and Assemblymember Rick Keene (R-Chico, 3rd District), also vice chair of the Assembly Budget Committee. Only Steinberg has previous experience serving on a budget conference committee (last year).