Senate Subcommittee Approves Budget Package, Preserves Key Health and Social Services

Senate Budget Subcommittee 3 approved a broad set of staff recommendations Tuesday that reject many of the cuts proposed in the governor's May revision and preserve funding for a range of health, long-term care and food-security programs.

The subcommittee, meeting as part of the California State Senate budget process, voted to approve the staff recommendations after an hour of public comment from health providers, advocacy groups and county officials. Chair (unnamed) opened the hearing by thanking public commenters and staff, saying, "This has been an extremely difficult budget year," and noting that public input had been "instrumental and [a] very critical part of the entire budget process."

Why it matters: The votes keep intact funding for services relied on by seniors, people with disabilities, low-income families and immigrant communities while rejecting several of the governor's proposed reductions. The package preserves Medi'Cal access for most current enrollees, rejects proposed cuts to in-home supportive services (IHSS) overtime and travel time caps, restores grant funding for behavioral-health and community programs, and directs funding to food-security initiatives.

What the subcommittee approved and preserved

- Health coverage: Members emphasized that the budget would not disenroll people currently covered by Medi'Cal. The subcommittee rejected several of the May revision's deeper cuts, while adopting a more limited package of changes affecting…