Senate Committee Hearing Notes - March 7, 2012
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March 7, 2012 This issue update is part of our continuing series of briefings on Legislative oversight hearings. These hearings allow the Senate and Assembly to underscore the valuable role that Legislative oversight plays in good government and best practices. The Senate Majority Caucus has compiled the following summaries of oversight hearings conducted in the second half of February, 2012. Joint Hearing of the Senate and Assembly Health Committees, the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 3 on Health and Human Services and Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and Human Services Senate Select Committee on Autism & Related Disorders Joint Hearing of the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee and the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance Joint Conference Committee Hearing of the Senate Employment and Retirement Committee and the Assembly Public Employees Retirement and Social Security Committee Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water Joint Hearing of the Senate and Assembly Health Committees, the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 3 on Health and Human Services and Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and Human Services This hearing was held to provide oversight and information on the Administration's long-term plan to reorganize the delivery of behavioral health services in the state and how all of the parts of the various reorganization proposals will come together. Mike Wilkening, Undersecretary of Program and Fiscal Affairs for the Health and Human Services Agency, began the first half of the hearing with a presentation of the Administration's overarching vision for restructuring behavioral health programs. During his testimony, he presented the policy and fiscal justification for the Administration's action, including oversight of last year's budget action shifting the administration of Medi-Cal specialty mental health managed care, the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) Program, and the Drug Medi-Cal program to the Department of Health Care Services. Individual departments also provided more detailed information to the Committee. The second half of the hearing covered an overview of the Governor’s 2012-13 budget proposal to eliminate the Departments of Mental Health and Alcohol and Drug Programs. The committee also looked at the respective program transfers needed to carry out the remaining programs proposed for restructuring. With regard to the restructuring proposed in the Governor's 2012-13 Budget, the focus included testimony on the policy and fiscal rationale of the various proposed program shifts, the views of affected stakeholders and the process for providing more details on these budget proposals. Shawn Martin from the Legislative Analyst’s Office presented their findings on the Governor’s Proposed Community Mental Health Program Shift and the Governor’s Proposed Alcohol and Drug Program Shift. The Committee has written testimony from participants available on their website. Helpful Links Senate Select Committee on Autism & Related Disorders The Senate Select Committee on Autism & Related Disorders heard testimony on the challenges of delivering supportive services to people with autism, especially in rural areas. To address this challenge, organizations are turning to telehealth technology to increase access of health services. The committee invited panelists to discuss the autism epidemic in California, the issues of providing autism support services, emerging technologies to deliver health services, public policy issues and future implementation strategies. Each year, the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) receives 3,000 new cases of ASD which accounts for two-thirds of all new cases. Telehealth is known as an important tool to increase access to care, improve outcomes and patient support, and reduce costs, among other benefits. The use of telehealth could save California roughly $511 million annually. Helpful Links Joint Hearing of the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee and the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance The Senate Transportation and Housing Committee held a joint informational hearing with the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance to discuss the future of local economic development and affordable housing funds in the wake of the state’s dismantling of local redevelopment agencies (RDA). Since money for affordable housing has been set aside through redevelopment agency financing mechanisms, RDAs and affordable housing are linked. Specifically, a portion of the money redevelopment agencies borrowed against anticipated tax increment (the difference between current property taxes and the increase in property taxes due to property improvements) was deposited into special funds known as Low and Moderate Income Housing Funds (L&M funds). The Committees heard testimony from low-income housing experts, local government officials, local developers and trade associations. Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg testified at the hearing and provided a brief overview on how the system of tax increment financing established in the 1950s led to unhealthy competition between cities, counties and local school districts. He suggested that the framework for future financing models must take into account local control, regional decision making, sustainable community design and professionalized economic assessment of a subsidized project’s return-on-investment. He also shared his proposed legislation (SB 1151 and 1156) that re-directs redevelopment agencies' assets, including cash and liquid investments, leases, real and personal property - such as parking lots and office buildings - to cities and counties for local trusts for future economic development and housing projects. Helpful Links Joint Conference Committee Hearing of the Senate Employment and Retirement Committee and the Assembly Public Employees Retirement and Social Security Committee This was the fourth in a series of hearings on public pensions. Ann Boynton, Deputy Executive Officer for CalPERS Benefit Programs Policy and Planning -- who had previously testified on the Governor’s Twelve Point Pension Reform Draft Plan at an earlier hearing -- discussed the impact of increasing the normal retirement age. Currently, a miscellaneous employee can retire as early as age 50 for a minimum benefit or at age 63 with a maximum benefit. The current formula is 2 percent at 55 years of age, times their years of service. The average state employee retires at age 62 with 24 years of services with 51 percent of their pay. A more complete explanation of other employee formulas can be found here. Ms. Boynton said that raising the normal retirement age will reduce retirement costs for new hires. Every three-year increase in the normal retirement age can result in a ten percent savings over 35 years. However, increasing the retirement age to 67 years for miscellaneous employees and 57 years for safety employees does not guarantee that they will work that long. There is a concern that with safety jobs, employees may opt for disability retirement instead of working until they turn 57. In those cases, raising the retirement age could increase employer health care costs. Ed Derman, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Plan Design and Communications for CalSTRS testified that teachers retire when they believe they are financially secure, regardless of age. An additional issue for the committee to consider is that teachers do not pay into social security, so they do not receive it in retirement. Ken Jacobs, Chair UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education Institute for Research on Labor and Employment testified that employees without a college degree enter the workforce sooner and leave earlier than employees with degrees. Life expectancy for men in the top half of the income spectrum has gone up 5.5.years. However, life expectancy varies greatly by race, ethnicity and socio-economic factors and, in general, lower wage workers have not shared in life expectancy gains. Mr. Jacobs found that 41 percent of employees leave the workforce earlier than planned and, of those, 54 percent left for health reasons. In the 60 to 67 age range, 49 percent need to stay in the workforce longer because their 401Ks have gone down and 40.1 percent are working full time. Helpful Links Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water The Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee held an informational and oversight hearing on Tuesday, February 28, to receive updates on four strategic plans dealing with aspects of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta – a critical California ecosystem, as well as an important freshwater diversion point for the State Water Project. The Committee heard updates on the Delta Stewardship Council’s Delta Plan, the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP), the Delta Protection Commission’s Economic Stability Plan and the Delta Conservancy’s Strategic Plan. The meeting coincided with the release of thousands of pages of scientific research and data for public scrutiny as part of the release of the BDCP Administrative Draft EIS/EIR. At the end of 2009, after a lengthy collaborative process, the Legislature passed a series of water related legislation that included a bill to authorize placing an $11 billion water bond before the voters. But concern over state spending and the difficult politics of a gubernatorial election year led state leaders to delay the bond. A wet start to 2011 brought an end to drought conditions, but stakeholders have known that there is still unfinished business to do – including some form of voter-approved water bond – when it comes to the design, long-term funding and ecological sustainability of a safe and reliable state water supply. In the meantime, a wealth of information on strategic plans for the Delta is available on the Natural Resources and Water Committee website. Helpful Links Delta Stewardship Council Bay-Delta Conservation Plan Delta Protection Commission’s Delta Conservancy Related Media and Media Coverage
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