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THE BULLETIN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 2018
NEWS
Gov. Brown Wants Millions For Homeless Aid By Sophia Bollag SACRAMENTO—Cities and counties would receive $359 million from surplus state revenue to help California's growing homeless population under the proposed budget Gov. Jerry Brown announced Friday.
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BOUT a fourth of homeless people in the United States live in California, which has just 12 percent of the country's overall population, according to federal data. Brown, a Democrat who has been criticized for not acting more quickly to address the problem, said the money will help, but more will be needed to solve the root causes of homelessness, including mental illness and drug addiction. It will be a challenge for whoever is elected in November to succeed Brown. “It isn't enough to just throw dollars down to the cities,” Brown said at a news conference. The money would include $250 million for emergency aid block grants, $32 million for the state's welfare program CalWORKs and $50 million for people will mental illness. It also includes funding for domestic violence shelters, a state council that coordinates homeless assistance, and support for homeless youth and seniors. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said Friday he and other mayors are sorting out what the money would mean for local government. A bipartisan group of mayors from California's 11 largest cities has lobbied at the state Capitol this year for $1.5 billion to tackle homelessness. Liccardo said he appreciated
Brown's response to their programs that would address the request, but said they'll push “for high cost of housing (and) the a larger commitment in light of state's severe homelessness crisis,” the magnitude of the crisis.” the San Francisco Democrat said Liccardo said money could in a statement. “If we are going to go toward have a lasting b u i l d i n g It isn't enough to just impact on tiny housing the lives of all throw dollars down Californians units at a cost of $20,000 we must to the cities. each and invest more rehabilitating in increasing Gov. Jerry Brown motel rooms the supply of into usable apartments. affordable homes for our rentThe budget should include burdened, low-income families.” even more money for permanent The funding Brown proposed housing with on-site support for would be a one-time expenditure homeless people, Assemblyman to tide communities over until David Chiu said. new fees approved last year start “The governor's budget does generating revenue, Brown says. not invest enough of California's Last year, lawmakers approved considerable surplus into a fee on real estate transaction
documents to fund subsidized housing. They also placed a bond measure on the November ballot to allocate $4 billion for housing for low-income people and veterans. Brown's budget proposal also calls on the Legislature to place another bond measure on the November ballot for $2 billion to house people who are homeless or at risk of losing their homes. Lawmakers approved the money in 2016, but it has since been tied up in court because of a lawsuit that argues the money comes from a source voters approved to fund mental health services, not housing. Brown says bringing the issue directly to voters will clear up the legal questions and allow the money
to be spent. More than 25 percent of homeless Californians have severe mental illness, according to Brown's office. The budget proposal also includes an additional $312 million for overall mental health services, including care specifically for young people and early detection. Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg applauded the increased money for mental health and homeless aid in the updated budget proposal, known as the May revision. “For the first time ever in my memory, mental health is a lead issue in the May revision,” Steinberg said. “This is a tipping point.”
More Californians Choose to Register Without Political Party By Kathleen Ronayne SACRAMENTO—More than a quarter of California voters aren't registered in a political party, making independents the fastest growing share of voters in the state, according to state data released Thursday. They're nipping closer at the heels of Republicans; that party now outpaces independents by just 30,000 voters. “The Republicans aren't capturing the new California, and I think this is a result of especially the national party brand dragging down Republicans in California,” Thad Kousser said, chair of the political science department at the University of California in San Diego. Independent voters, who register as ‘no party preference,' grew by about 1 million since April 2014 to roughly 4.73 million registered voters. Republicans, meanwhile, have 4.76 million voters, down by about 300,000 since 2014. Democrats' 8.4 million voters
California Counties Sue Drug Makers Over Opioid Epidemic make up the largest share of the California electorate, at 44 percent. The party's share of the vote has held steady, dipping on occasion. Between January and April of this year, for example, both Republicans and Democrats lost some voters as independents gained. Even a slight slide is troubling news for Republicans, who risk coming out of the June 5 primary without a candidate
on the ballot for U.S. Senate or governor, although their chances are better in the governor's race. But the data does provide some good news for Republicans: They still outpace Democrats among registered voters in several key congressional districts. Democrats are targeting seven California U.S. House seats where Hillary Clinton won more votes than Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential race.
In the 48th District, where incumbent Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is seeking reelection, Republicans make up 40 percent of registered voters compared to Democrats, at 30 percent. In the 49th District, the seat being vacated by Rep. Darrell Issa, Republicans hold a 5-point edge. It's tighter in the 39th District, where Rep. Ed Royce is retiring, but Republicans still edge Democrats.
SACRAMENTO— Dozens of California counties are suing drug makers and pharmacy chains that officials say created a public nuisance by manufacturing and distributing prescription painkillers they say contributed to the deaths of 64,000 people in the United States in 2016 alone. The Sacramento Bee n Opioid, see page 8