California Senate President Pro Tempore Delays Vote on Health Care Overhaul Measure
California Senate President Pro Tempore Don Perata (D) has decided to delay until Monday a vote on compromise health care reform legislation (ABX1 1) negotiated by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D), state Senate Health Committee Chair Sheila Kuehl (D) announced on Thursday during a hearing on the bill, the Ventura County Star reports (Herdt, Ventura County Star, 1/24).
During the hearing, several Democratic lawmakers expressed concern over a report released this week by the state Legislative Analyst's Office (Ainsworth, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1/24). The report found that depending on alternative financial scenarios, the health care overhaul could be adequately financed, or it could result in a $4 billion budget shortfall within five years (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 1/23). Perata said the delay will give lawmakers time to study the findings of the report (Ventura County Star, 1/24).
Nunez told the committee, "The soundness of this plan is inevitably strong," adding, "We have an independent funding stream that will not impact the budget" (Zapler, San Jose Mercury News, 1/24). Senate Democrats plan to meet to discuss the legislation before Monday's scheduled vote (San Diego Union-Tribune, 1/24).
Perata's decision to postpone the committee's vote came one day after Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), a member of the panel, announced he would not vote for the bill. Kuehl previously has stated her opposition to the measure (Rojas, Sacramento Bee, 1/24). Perata has the option of replacing committee members to secure enough votes for passage of the bill (Ventura County Star, 1/24). However, Perata on Wednesday said he is pessimistic about the prospects of passing the plan, according to the Mercury News. He said that "it's very hard for people to come to grips with" the idea that the timing may not be right to pass the bill. "When you have to explain all those nuances to people who are losing their jobs and their homes," Perata said, "it's not a good position to be in" (San Jose Mercury News, 1/24).
