FCL NEWSLETTER -- October, 2002

Ballot Measures for November of 2002
Proposition 46: The View from San Francisco
Proposition 46: The View from Los Angeles
A Farewell Note from Steve Birdlebough
Whatever Happened To? [web-version]
2002 Statewide Meeting
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Ballot Measures for November of 2002

The November election presents voters with seven ballot measures, including three general obligation bonds totaling $18.6 billion, one technical amend-ment to the state constitution, and two measures that direct portions of the state?s general fund to specific expenditures. Voters are also asked to consider a measure providing for election-day voter registration.

FCL?s Executive Committee analyzes and deliberates on each ballot measure. If unity is achieved, the Committee makes a recommendation. Below are FCL?s recommendations for the November 2002 election. FCL makes no recommendation on Proposition 48 because unity was not reached.

Proposition 46: Housing and Emergency Shelter Act of 2002. This measure authorizes $2.1 billion in bonds that would fund numerous other housing projects including low-interest loans for affordable multi-family housing developments with units reserved for low-income renters; housing projects that provide health and social services for the homeless and mentally ill; down-payment assistance for first-time, low, and moderate income home buyers; low-interest loans and grants for housing construction for farm workers; and grants for the construction of homeless and battered women?s shelters. Opponents contend that the measure burdens our children with unnecessary debt, but supporters counter that housing projects will benefit future generations. California has a tremendous need for affordable housing because of its unusually high housing costs and large numbers of homeless and working-poor families. The Non-Profit Housing Association contends that the measure also leverages between $3 and $4 in private capital and federal funds for each dollar provided, which could create 275,000 full-time jobs. FCL SUPPORTS.

Proposition 47: Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2002. This measure provides $13.05 billion to fund public educational facilities to relieve overcrowding and to repair and modernize older schools. $11.4 billion would be spent on K-12 facilities, while universities and community colleges receive $1.65 billion. The measure has no organized opposition, but critics argue that California has taken on too much bond debt and that the measure overwhelmingly favors the Los Angeles Unified School District?s construction projects. Proponents counter that the measure prioritizes funds for critically overcrowded school districts and that every district is eligible for its fair share of funding. While Californians have approved $11.5 billion in bonds for K-12 facilities in the last decade, only $550 million remains available, and there is a backlog of unfunded projects. California?s growing population requires additional investments in school facilities. FCL SUPPORTS.

Proposition 48: Court Consolidation. Legislative Constitutional Amendment. In 1998, California voters approved Proposition 220, which permitted counties to consolidate municipal and superior courts. Since then, all of California?s 58 counties have consolidated their courts into superior courts. Proposition 48 amends the state constitution to delete obsolete references to municipal courts. FCL takes no position.

Proposition 49: Before and After School Programs. State Grants. Initiative Statute. This measure makes every public elementary, middle and junior high school eligible for after school grants ranging from $50,000-$75,000 to fund after-school programs. Improved academic performance and lower juvenile crime rates result from these programs. Proponents contend that programs will be funded out of future growth in state revenues. But, because the spending formula does not take into account inflation or population growth, the measure does not provide sufficient protection for the state budget in tight budget years, when other important programs are reduced or even eliminated. While other valuable programs are subject to legislative scrutiny in a deliberative, competitive setting, after-school programs would be exempted by this measure. While FCL recognizes the value of after-school programs, we think that it is wrong to finance them at the expense of other important programs. FCL OPPOSES.

Proposition 50: Bonds for Water Projects, Wetlands Protection, etc. This measure will enable state and local agencies to use $3.4 billion in state funds for water, wetlands, and river parkway projects, including improved security for state, regional and local water systems. Funding will support a wide variety of projects for wildlife habitat and wetlands acquisition and restoration; watershed protection; levee restoration; pollution prevention; canal lining; water recycling; supply reliability; competitive grants for water management and water quality improvement projects; development of river parkways; grants for desalination and drinking water disinfecting projects; and small community water system upgrades. Opponents note that bonds are more costly than pay-as-you go financing, but funds for many of these projects are not available at present. It is important to begin protecting water supplies before further deterioration occurs. FCL SUPPORTS.

Proposition 51: Allocation of Sales Taxes Raised from Sale of Motor Vehicles. Reallocates 30% of sales and use tax revenues collected on motor vehicle sales or leases from the General Fund to a Traffic Congestion Relief and Safe School Bus Trust Fund. Allocates money for specific transportation programs including highway expansion, specific freeway interchange improvements, mass transit improvements, purchases of buses, and expanded rail service. Provides funds for environmental enhancement, transportation impact mitigation programs, and transportation safety programs. Allocates money to 45 specific projects, and for the remainder of the fund, specifies distribution percentages, restricts fund uses, and provides accountability measures. Supporters urge that all of the transportation improvements mentioned in the measure are sorely needed, but opponents note that nearly two-thirds of state revenues are already tied up by other provisions of law. Human services programs are likely to suffer adverse effects if this proposition becomes law. FCL OPPOSES.

Proposition 52: Election Day Voter Registration. Under this measure, individuals with valid identification who are legally eligible to register and vote could do so at any time on or before election day. The proposition creates a fund to hire and train personnel for Election Day registration, and requires trained staff at the polling place to manage Election Day registration. The measure increases the penalty for voter fraud, expressly makes conspiracy to commit voter fraud a crime, and provides additional time for county election officials to prepare voter registration lists. Opponents fear that same-day registration would encourage fraudulent registration in close election contests, but other states using Election Day registration do not appear to have experienced increased fraud. As mobility of employment increases, and technical advances improve our ability to verify a person?s identity, it is important to facilitate broad participation in the democratic process. FCL SUPPORTS.

A NOTE ABOUT BOND PAYMENTS

Opponents of bond measures on the November ballot argue that Californians are taking on too much bond debt. While they point out that Californians have approved approximately $500 billion in bond debt since 1985, some perspective is needed.

Undoubtedly, bond debt costs are significant, but they also make large undertakings affordable. Bond financing spreads the costs of large undertakings over a greater portion of their useful life.

According to the Legislative Analyst?s Office, the state?s payments for bond debt totaled $2.9 billion in 2001-02. This amounted to just 3.9% of the $76.9 billion state budget. Debt payments are expected to fall in 2002-03 and 2003-04 because of the deferral of certain bond payments during these two years to help with the state?s budget shortfall. There are $18.6 billion in bond measures on the ballot for the November 2002 election. If voters approve all of the measures, annual debt payments would rise to $4.7 billion by 2007-8 before declining in subsequent years.

? Steve Birdlebough and Jim Lindburg

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FCL makes the following recommendations for the November 2002 Ballot Propositions:
Proposition 46: YES.
Bonds for Housing and Emergency Shelters.
Proposition 47: YES.
Bonds for Public Education Facilities.
Proposition 48: No position.
Court Consolidation.
Proposition 49: NO.
Grants for Before and After Schools Programs.
Proposition 50: YES. Bonds for Water Projects.
Proposition 51: NO.
Allocation of Sales Taxes Raised from Sale of Motor Vehicles.
Proposition 52: YES. Election Day Voter Registration.

Proposition 46: The View from San Francisco

The state?s Little Hoover Commission recently wrote, ?the lack of affordable housing is so severe that it threatens the health and welfare of thousands of Californians, as well as the state?s long-term prosperity? (Rebuilding the Dream: Solving California?s Affordable Housing Crisis, May 2002).

The Mayor?s Office of Housing in San Francisco estimates that the city needs 19,000 units of affordable housing over the next five years. San Francisco?s homeless population ranges from 6,000 to 12,000 people, depending on whether one counts only people on the street and in shelters, or if one includes people with no fixed address (e.g., ?couch surfers,? those who double up with others, are temporarily institutionalized, or in transitional housing). These figures do not take into account demand from those not currently living in the city.

With property owners and the hospitality industry looking to improve the local economy following the bursting of the dot-com bubble and the current recession, ?cleaning up? the visible and sometimes unpleasant side effects of long-term homelessness from the city center has become a major political concern. San Francisco supervisors have even offered up measures on the local November ballot that cut cash benefits to homeless people, while promising to deliver services in their stead. Without passage of Prop 46, there would be little hope of actually providing those services.

Proposition 46 addresses the lack of housing available at a price affordable to the lowest-income people, which is the cause of most homelessness. Major projects would receive assistance from the state, such as one now under construction at 8th and Howard, where the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation and Citizens Housing Corporation are building a 162-unit building with studio apartments for individuals and multi-bedroom apartments for families. There will also be an on-site childcare center and space for neighborhood-serving retail, such as a grocery store. Several units will be set aside for persons with HIV/AIDS. Old residential hotels, such as the Ambassador Hotel, just one block away from the world-famous cable-car turnaround at Powell and Market Streets, would be given a new lease on life and turned into livable, dignified places once again.

? Chris Mohr

(Chris Mohr, a San Francisco Friends Meeting representative to FCL and clerk of the Development and Outreach Committee, is director of fund development for the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corp.)

Proposition 46: The View from Los Angeles

Southern California has a growing population of low-income persons and a shrinking number of affordable units, which is leading to an affordable housing crisis. According to the Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housing, in Los Angeles County:

• 48 percent of residents own their homes, compared with 67 percent nationwide
• 56 percent of renters pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing
• 46 percent of renters pay more than half their incomes for housing
• 45 percent of renters are unable to afford market rents for a 2-bedroom apartment
• 15 percent of rental units are substandard

  Jobs in California are expected to increase 23.6 percent by 2008. By 2003, Los Angeles County needs 203,000 additional units to keep pace with regional housing needs. From 1997 through 1999, an average of only 12,000 units per year were added.

  Proposition 46, the $2.1 billion housing bond measure, is a critical component in the production and preservation of the region?s housing supply and deserves a ?YES? vote.

  ? Michelle White

  (Michelle White is the executive director of Affordable Housing Services, a Pasadena-based developer of housing for low- and no-income persons, and a member of the Executive Committee of American Friends Service Committee?s Pacific Southwest Region. She attends the Orange Grove Monthly Meeting.)

  A Farewell Note from Steve Birdlebough

  It is hard to believe that three legislative sessions have become history since I began to represent FCL in 1997. During my first few weeks on the job, I realized that the breadth of Friends? concerns is a challenge to its lobbyists. On any given day FCL can be asked to work on a death penalty bill with the American Civil Liberties Union, a mental health bill with Protection and Advocacy Inc., and a Selective Service measure with the Committee Against Militarism and the Draft.

  To be credible on issues as diverse as mental illness, criminal law, the draft, poverty, and environmental justice, a lobbyist needs access to an informed and active support system. Among Friends, there is much expertise on these issues, but it takes a surprising amount of effort to bring the right people together. Perseverance is important.

  For example, Friends have promoted Alternatives to Violence Projects in California communities and prisons for more than a dozen years. Since 1994, FCL has been looking for opportunities to educate the Sacramento corrections and legislative community about the value of such three-day experiential workshops. Only in the last several months have events enabled us to schedule a Capitol briefing on these widely acclaimed programs.

  Similarly, nearly ten years ago Friends in Riverside and San Bernardino introduced the PeaceBuilders curriculum as a way to establish peacemaking cultures in local schools. The FCL Education Fund produced an Inventory of Violence Prevention Programs in 1999 that placed these programs in a statewide perspective, and we have urged agencies throughout the state to focus on violence prevention. Efforts are still continuing to create the official frameworks that will make such programs universal.

  As Jim Lindburg takes over the work of advocacy for FCL, I want us to remind ourselves that consensus-building is truly a joint effort. Though the staff serves us all by focusing enthusiasm and diverse resources, the calls, letters, time, and financial contributions of many people are needed for the vision of Friends to bear fruit in public policy.

  ? Steve Birdlebough

  Whatever Happened To?

  This is a summary of significant bills that FCL is following at the close of the second year of the legislative session. Bill status is shown as of September 6, 2002. The Governor must sign or veto bills by September 30th. The full text and history of each bill may be found by consulting the FCL website or by contact with the author?s staff. It is always appropriate to thank legislators and the Governor for their action on bills. Letters may be addressed to them at ?State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814.? You may find out who your legislators are by consulting the State Government pages of your local telephone directory.

  Criminal Justice and Public Safety

  AB 1790 (Jackie Goldberg, D., Los Angeles) recasts the ?three-strikes? law to remove mandatory minimum sentences if the conviction is for a non-violent felony. FCL SUPPORTS. Died in Assembly Appropriations.

  AB 2282 (Jay LaSuer, R., La Mesa) restricts funding for drug rehabilitation programs located in urban areas. FCL OPPOSES. Died in Assembly Health.

  AB 2652 (Judy Chu, D., Monterey Park) establishes an 11-member California Domestic Violence Court Task Force. FCL SUPPORTS. Governor?s Desk.

  SB 27 (Bruce McPherson R., Santa Cruz) directs the State Office of Emergency Services to develop training programs relative to terrorism awareness and response. FCL OPPOSES unless amended to address prevention. Died in Assembly Governmental Organization.

  SB 1350 (Bruce McPherson R., Santa Cruz) establishes an Emergency Response Training Advisory Committee to develop training programs on terrorism awareness and response together with the State Fire Marshal and the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. FCL OPPOSES unless amended to include training for prevention. Governor?s Desk.

  SB 1517 (Richard Polanco, D., Los Angeles) exempts forgery, receiving stolen property, and other nonviolent felonies from the ?three-strikes? sentencing requirements. FCL SUPPORTS. Died on Senate Floor.

  SB 1719 (Byron Sher, D., Palo Alto) converts felony shoplifting and petty theft with a prior conviction into misdemeanor offenses, so as to prevent minimum 25-year sentences to state prison from being applied in such cases. FCL SUPPORTS. Died on Senate Floor.

  SB 1722(Martha Escutia, D., Whittier) requires police reports of domestic violence to identify children who were likely to have witnessed the violence, and makes those children eligible for public services. FCL SUPPORTS. Died in Senate Appropriations.

  SB 1807 (Wesley Chesbro, D., Arcata) lowers the burden of proof to delay the return of a weapon seized during a domestic violence arrest. FCL SUPPORTS. Governor?s Desk.

  Capital Punishment

  AB 557 (Dion Aroner, D., Berkeley) establishes the procedure whereby courts can prevent execution of the mentally retarded in accordance with the U.S. Supreme Court?s Adkins decision. FCL SUPPORTS. Died on Assembly Floor.

  Imprisonment

  SB 1496 (John Burton, D., San Francisco) suffered deletion of its reentry center provisions by amendments concerning farmworker mediation. FCL SUPPORTS. Died on Assembly Floor.

  SB 1497 (Richard Polanco, D., Los Angeles) establishes a process for review of life sentences by a panel of three judges in cases where a prisoner has served more time in prison than is suggested by the matrix used by the Board of Prison Terms. FCL SUPPORTS. Died in Assembly Appropriations.

  Children and Youth

  AB 1909 (Rebecca Cohn, D., Saratoga) authorizes courts to establish pilot projects to identify the best practices in domestic violence cases. FCL SUPPORTS. Chapter 192.

  AB 1984 (Darrell Steinberg, D., Sacramento) and SB 1478 (Bruce McPherson, D., Santa Cruz) encourage establishment of 21st Century after-school programs on high school campuses. FCL SUPPORTS. Governor?s Desk.

  AB 2462 (Patricia Bates, R., Laguna Niguel) enables children in homes that suffer domestic violence to benefit from the victims of crime program, whether or not they actually witness the violence. FCL SUPPORTS. Governor?s Desk.

  AB 2496 (Darrell Steinberg, D., Sacramento) requires regular reviews to assure compliance with court orders for placement of youths in group homes or foster care, following detention in juvenile hall. FCL SUPPORTS. Governor?s Desk.

  AB 2730 (Carl Washington, D., Los Angeles) establishes a Youth Mentoring and Safe Communities Grant Program to be located in public libraries, and appropriates $5 million to fund the services. FCL SUPPORTS. Died in Senate Education.

  SB 1362 (Betty Karnette, D., Long Beach) establishes a pilot program to permit the children of women serving life terms in prison to have overnight visits with their mothers, subject to the same visiting restrictions as are applicable to the children of mothers who have a parole date set. FCL SUPPORTS. Governor?s Desk.

  SB 1667 (John Vasconcellos, D., Santa Clara) directs schools to include all aspects of violence prevention in safety and violence prevention plans. FCL SUPPORTS. Governor?s Desk.

  SB 1979 (Jim Costa, D., Fresno) would extend for two years the California National Guard?s ?Turning-Point Academy? with a budgeted cost of $3 million per year, and permits admission of youth who have committed a variety of offenses on the school grounds or at school-sponsored events. FCL OPPOSES. Died in Senate Public Safety.

  Budget and Revenue

  SB 1255 (John Burton, D., San Francisco) restores the ?top bracket? state income tax rates that were deleted in 1996 until the Director of Finance certifies that the prudent reserve threshold has been met. FCL SUPPORTS. Died in Senate Revenue and Taxation.

  Health and Mental Health

  AB 1421 (Helen Thomson, D., Davis) establishes a pilot program for assisted outpatient mental health treatment of individuals at high risk for poor outcomes, under court supervision. Governor?s Desk.

  AB 1422 (Helen Thomson, D., Davis) establishes a 13-member mental health advocacy commission to serve until 2008. FCL SUPPORTS. Governor?s Desk.

  AB 1806 (Keith Richman, R., Granada Hills) maximizes the resources that individuals may retain for purposes of Medi-Cal eligibility, to the extent that federal financial participation is available. FCL SUPPORTS. Died in Senate Appropriations.

  AB 2739 (Wilma Chan, D., Oakland) requires Medi-Cal managed care plans to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services. FCL SUPPORTS. Governor?s Desk.

  AB 2740 (Wilma Chan, D., Oakland) requires the development of a state mental health plan for children, as suggested by the Little Hoover Commission. FCL SUPPORTS. Governor?s Desk.

  SB 187 (John Vasconcellos, D., Silicon Valley) directs the State Department of Health to establish a voluntary system for issuance of identification cards to qualified patients who use marijuana for medical purposes, and for primary caregivers. FCL SUPPORTS. Died in Senate.

  SB 599 (Wesley Chesbro, D., Napa) provides for insurance coverage of drug and alcohol addictions on the same basis as other medical conditions. FCL SUPPORTS. Died on Assembly Floor.

  SB 931 (John Burton, D., San Francisco) provides for grants to expand comprehensive treatment services for persons with mental illness at risk of involuntary commitment under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, and requires development of a training program to improve delivery of services under this bill. FCL SUPPORTS. Died in Assembly Health.

  SB 1911 (Debra Ortiz, D., Sacramento) establishes a Department of Mental Health task force to study barriers to mental health for children that are privately insured. FCL SUPPORTS. Governor?s Desk. Housing

  AB 1866 (Rod Wright, D., Los Angeles) seeks to increase the number of affordable housing units by making more housing developments eligible for certain fiscal incentives under the density bonus law, and by enabling home-owners to shortcut the approval process for creating ?granny flats? and other second units on their property. FCL SUPPORTS. Governor?s Desk.

  AB 2292 (John Dutra, D., Fremont) prevents local governments from rezoning projects or imposing conditions on developers that are inconsistent with established zoning densities, and provides developers with a remedy for illegally imposed restrictions. FCL SUPPORTS. Governor?s Desk.

  SB 372 (Joseph Dunn, D., Garden Grove) creates a short-term capital loan program to permit preservation of affordable housing developments and allow time for a permanent preservation strategy to be implemented. The bill also creates the Preservation Opportunity Fund to facilitate appropriations to these programs. FCL SUPPORTS. Governor?s Desk.

  SB 1227 (John Burton, D., San Francisco) enacts the Housing Bond Act of 2002, which will authorize the issuance of $2.1 billion in general obligation bonds for state housing programs. FCL SUPPORTS. Chaptered, to be submitted to voters as Proposition 46 on November ballot.

  SB 1403 (Sheila Kuehl, D., Santa Monica) requires a 60-day no-fault eviction notice if a tenant has resided on the property for more than a year, except in circumstances such as a sale of the property, or intended occupancy by the owner, and enacts other tenant protections. FCL SUPPORTS. Chapter 301. Immigrants

  AB 60 (Gil Cedillo, D., Los Angeles) allows a person who does not have a social security number and who is in the process of obtaining lawful immigration status to obtain a driver?s license or identification card for up to three years. FCL SUPPORTS. Governor?s Desk. Low-Income Californians

  AB 989 (Wilma Chan, D., Oakland) eliminates the termination date for the California Food Assistance Program (CFAP) and the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI), two programs created in response to the federal welfare reform. FCL SUPPORTS. Governor?s Desk.

  Peace and Human Rights

  AB 1649 (Jackie Goldberg, D., Los Angeles) prohibits employment and housing discrimination based on actual or perceived gender. FCL SUPPORTS. Died on Senate Floor.

  SB 1276 (Jackie Speier, D., San Mateo), as amended, directs the Department of Motor Vehicles to forward electronic information to the Selective Service system for each male driver?s license applicant between the ages of 18 and 26, if they indicate that they would like to be registered. FCL OPPOSES. Died in Senate Appropriations.

  SJR 32(Ray Haynes, R., Riverside) proposes to congratulate the Bush Administration for its strategies in fighting terrorism. FCL OPPOSES. Died at Assembly Desk.

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  How is FCL doing?
  What legislative actions are we preparing for in 2003? How can we make a difference together?
  Join us and find out at the
  2002 Statewide Meeting
  and celebration
  of FCL?s 50th Anniversary
  We?ll discuss this year and the future ?
  and have a good time! (potluck and party
  with contra dancing planned after the meeting)
  Saturday, December 7
  Berkeley Friends Church
  1600 Sacramento St. (at Cedar)
  9 a.m.?5 p.m. (Executive Committee meeting),
  6 p.m. (potluck), 8-10 p.m. (dance)
  Schedule subject to change ? please confirm
  For more information, visit FCL?s web site,
  www.fclca.org, or call (916) 443-3734.

  Subscribe to the FCL Newsletter

  You can have each issue of the FCL Newsletter mailed to your home or place of business, simply by mailing a request to our office, together with a check for $35 ($12 low-income). Bundle subscriptions to a meeting, congregation, or other group may also be arranged at a cost of $75.

  Friends Committee on Legislation 717 K St., Suite 500-B, Sacramento, CA 95814-3408 (916) 443-3734