FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 14, 2015

Contact: Gregg Fishman, Communications Coordinator 916-327-7500, ext. 516 916-342-9508 (cell)

The California State Association of Counties (CSAC) applauds Governor Jerry Brown for maintaining fiscal discipline and investing in critical programs important to all Californians. State revenues are considerably higher than anticipated in January, however, most of those additional funds are constitutionally directed to K-12 education and the “rainy day fund” the state maintains to reduce the impact in years when revenue does not meet expectations.

The May Revision to the budget also contains several proposals that help reduce the state’s debt, provide additional funding to manage the drought and address the needs of lower-income Californians. The new proposal includes an additional $232 million to fully repay local governments for what are known as “pre-2004 mandates” services the state required counties to perform and should have paid annually.

“The January budget proposed paying off most of this debt,” said CSAC Executive Director Matt Cate. “With revenue coming in stronger than expected, the May Revision includes $765 million to fully repay this debt. The allocation to California counties is 77 percent, or $589 million. Securing these funds has been one of CSAC’s top priorities and we thank the Governor for his leadership in addressing it.”

The Governor is also proposing to spend additional dollars on programs that are in line with CSAC’s legislative priorities. “There is significantly more money proposed to address impacts from the drought, create affordable housing and help low-income families with energy efficiency upgrades in their homes,” said CSAC President Vito Chiesa, a Stanislaus County Supervisor. “These programs help people who are in serious need, and they can create new jobs in counties where the drought is now hampering economic recovery from the recession.”

One area of concern for counties remains the lack of focus on funding for maintaining local streets, roads and bridges. “The need for local road improvements is well documented,” said CSAC’s Legislative Director DeAnn Baker. “Cities and counties have a funding shortfall of $80 billion dollars over the next decade for maintenance alone and that gap will only get worse without new revenue. There are some solid legislative proposals to address this. We will continue working with the Administration and the Legislature on this critical issue to ensure a comprehensive investment into both the local and state transportation systems.

The Governor’s May revision also proposes $150 million for county Medi-Cal eligibility workload in 2015-16, which is less than expected. County workers have had to use time-consuming manual workarounds due to unresolved problems with the state’s CalHEERS computer system. The proposed $150 million fails to cover the full-year costs of county workload associated with the Affordable Care Act, and Californians applying for Medi-Cal benefits may have longer wait times. Given the critical nature of this issue, we will continue our collaborative effort to ensure that county Medi-Cal administration activities are properly funded for 2015-16. 

The California State Association of Counties is the voice of California’s 58 counties at the state and federal level.