2007-2008 State Budget Signed

On Friday, August 24, 2007, Governor Schwarzenegger signed the 2007-2008 State Budget with $703 million in vetoes to spending. Throughout his veto message, the Governor said repeatedly, "These reductions are necessary in order to further build a prudent reserve in light of the various uncertainties in revenues and spending that we face this year."

Most of these cuts, a total of $527 million, will affect health and human services including $55 million from a program that provides mental health services for the homeless. In response, Ned Dolejsi, Executive Director of the California Catholic Conference stated, "While fiscal responsibility is to be applauded, many of the actual decisions made by the Governor...will directly impact those who are the poorest and most vulnerable in our society. In our opinion, this budget has no 'moral center' to it. It is a statement of political expediency and legislative dysfunction. There is little to celebrate...after nearly eight months of work by our elected officials and a 55 day delay in passing it."

Click here for a brief summary by the California Catholic Conference of the Governor's actions on the key issues.

Note:
The Diocese of San Jose will be joining with other dioceses across California on a statewide legislative network. Information will be forthcoming. We anticipate that this network will be important in our future advocacy work on behalf of the poor and marginalized. To sign on, contact Linda Batton at batton@dsj.org.