Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 3 on Health and Human Services

Senate Budget Subcommittee 3 will come to order. Before we begin today, I want to thank everyone who will speak at this hearing and for those who have spoken at all of our previous Sub 3 hearings. Your public input has been instrumental and very critical part of this entire budget process.

I also want to thank all of the speakers who came out to help and sat on the panels for our previous hearings. Those conversations also helped steer negotiation and helped us land to where we are today. I want to thank all of my fellow Committee Members for the thoughtful discussions and questions throughout the process and the Committee staff who have put in so many long hours working on analysis, briefings, and our agendas.

And finally, I want to thank Chair Wiener, who will be here later today, and also the Pro Tem for their long hours of negotiations and deliberations with the Assembly, and in the coming days, the Governor's Office. This has been an extremely difficult budget year. We gathered here a little over a month ago today with the understanding that we faced a $12 billion deficit, and a lot of this was fueled largely by the chaos that we're seeing in Washington and the negative impacts of the tariffs on California's economy.

And while this year has not been as bad as previous years, this year is projected to be the first year of many difficult budget years to come. And in previous years, we had been able to find easy paths or easier paths to solve our budget issues, such as one time allocations and to spending ongoing expenditures.

But unfortunately, many of those options were not available to us this year. And so what we have presented, what our solutions are, are absolutely in no way perfect. But I do believe that overall this budget that we presented continues to keep our promises to ensure that our most vulnerable Californians are safe and healthy.

What we rejected in the Governor's revise and what we have decided to fund are in line with the values Californians hold dear. In order to uphold the critical health and social services Californians hold dear, let us be very clear. We are not disenrolling anyone from Medi-Cal.

This means that no one currently covered will lose their health care coverage. That was a promise that California has made and a promise that we are keeping. We will not cut long term care and in home support services for unsatisfactory for Californians with unsatisfactory immigration status.

We will not be capping providers to 50 hours for in home supportive services because we understand the critical importance of their workers to their patients and to the importance of continuity of care. And we also know that our seniors and our elderly in the UIS population should not pay more for Medi-Cal.

And speaking of our senior population, they will not be limited to the $2,000 or $3,000 asset limit that was proposed in the Governor's May Revise. Our budget will raise the asset limit to $130,000, going back to what it was in 2022. This does not punish those who have saved for retirement or simply own the basics of assets. You know, California has been and will continue to be a reproductive freedom state. We will hold the line against the cruel federal cuts to family planning programs with this budget, and we will not cut funding to family planning services.

We have restored $52 million to the Cal Food Program and 36 million for the CalFresh Fruits and Vegetable Program to ensure that the poorest Californians will always have access to food. We will fund the 45 million for the Housing and Disability Advocacy Program for housing services for senior and people with disabilities.

Additionally, this budget will ensure that there is oversight, one of the things that has been missing in the past. We will make sure that organizations and programs this state funds are held accountable, and this budget will require data collection and audits to ensure the programs we fund are actually helping those that need it. This budget, which has been negotiated by leadership, will hold the line against those cuts which target our most vulnerable and stand in line with California values and promises. The May Revise was the Governor's proposal.

We disagree with many in that proposal, and this hearing will be our vote to our proposal to rebut some that you saw in the Governor's May Revise. And today the way in which we are going to start is actually with public comment before we move on to the vote. So if anyone would like to make a public comment today, you have one minute. Please come to the mic. And you may begin when you're ready.

Thank you, Chair. Kellie Longo Flores. I'm with the California Association of Food Banks, and I work alongside 41 food banks across the State of California with a mission to end hunger. Thank you for your commitment to the issue. Speaking to Item 267, we we really cannot express our sincere gratitude enough to the Legislator and Legislature and of course legislative staff for fully funding Cal Food at $52 million.

At a time when our food banks are seeing record need, this investment in California grown and manufactured food will work directly to end hunger in a lot of our communities. So thank you. And to fight hunger in our communities. Also speaking to Item 25, thank you for supporting the 7.4 million going to diaper bank operations. Diapers are one of the most asked for items at food banks after food, making this an incredibly important investment. Thank you.

Thank you.

Kim Rothschild, California Association of Public Authorities for In-Home Supportive Services. We appreciate the restoration of the cuts to IHSS. Thank you.

Thank you.

Brenda Grealish, Executive Director for the Commission for Behavioral Health. And just want to also express gratitude to the Legislature for the restoration or proposed restoration of the $20 million of Mental Health Wellness Act funds that support the Commission for Behavioral Health grants to some of our most vulnerable community members.

Also, in addition, the additional proposed $10 million for mental health wellness, which includes the focus on carving out $5 million for youth who suffer from substance use disorder conditions. So at a time when mental health services and substance use services are so critical for comprehensive health care for, again, our vulnerable community members, we really appreciate the Legislature's commitment to these populations. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon. Darby Kernan on behalf of the First 5 Association, representing all local county First 5s. On Item 71, we support the Legislature's rejection of the May Revise changes to the Behavioral Health Services Fund and appreciate and thank the Legislature's investment in the ACEs program. On item 61 for LeadingAge California, we support the action to modify the asset limit for the from the May Revise and appreciate the Legislature's action on this. Thank you.

Thank you.

Kelly Brooks. First, on behalf of the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, we appreciate the Legislature's work to modify the May Revision proposals impacting Medi-Cal for individuals with unsatisfactory immigration status, particularly the delay of implementation of the PPS elimination for federally qualified health centers.

Delaying changes to coverage for the UIS population will provide time to understand what the outcome of changes being contemplated at the federal level and what it means for safety net providers and the patients we serve. Second, on behalf of the California Association of Diaper Banks, we appreciate the work to modify the budget and provide $7.4 million for diaper banks in 25-26. We look forward to additional conversations next year about procurement and distribution of diapers.

Finally, on behalf of the Center for Elders Independence, a program of all inclusive care for the elderly serving Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, we support the Legislature's modifications to the January and May proposals. They are a workable path that ensures PACE can continue to serve the frail elderly beneficiaries. Thank you.

Thank you.

Eric Dowdy with the California Dental Association. Wanted to thank the Legislature for rejecting the Prop 56 cuts to Medi-Cal Dental. We know that that is a postponement until July 1, 2027. We'd like to see that made permanent, obviously, but we do thank you so much for your work on this.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Angela Pontes on behalf of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California in strong support of the Legislature's proposed budget. We want to thank you for recognizing that Planned Parenthood is an essential health care provider and for prioritizing reproductive health care in this budget, particularly through rejecting the proposed Prop 56 cuts requiring the Prop 35 reproductive health dollars are put towards reimbursement rates, providing a backfill for the lost Title 10 federal funding, and restoring the CDPH Office of Health Equity grants.

The Planned Parenthood Affiliates are grateful for these proposed investments. And in the coming weeks, we'll continue to advocate for emergency funding to limit any disruption in patient care and ensure that California health centers remain open in response to the proposed federal reconciliation bill that will defund Planned Parenthood. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair and Members. I'm Farrah McDaid Ting on behalf of the County Health Executives Association of California, or CHEAC. A couple items we're very grateful. On item 107, we support the Legislature's proposal to reject the reversion of unspent public health funds supporting the recruitment and retention of our public health workforce.

On item 110, we appreciate the modification made by the Legislature to maintain the $370,000 in the public health career ladder upskilling programs. This will help us continue to pay for the education of folks who are midstream in that program. They were facing losing this funding while they were still in school.

So we very much appreciate the restoration of that. And on items 111 through 114 and item 116, we support the Subcommittee's recommendation to approve as budgeted, and we want to thank the leadership in particular for sustaining the myCAvax system. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon. Diana Douglas with Health Access California. Health Access is profoundly disappointed that the legislative budget proposal, while rejecting some of the Governor's cuts, is based on the same framework of using immigration status to determine who will get health care and who will go without. This, even after a decade of Health4All advocacy to remove immigration status is a barrier and when immigrants are being attributed attacked by the Trump Administration in the streets of Los Angeles and communities all over the country.

Health Access urges any new policies to have better consumer protection, starting with commitment to freeze any Medi-Cal cuts by January 2028. We oppose any premiums. We know that payments of any amount cause people to drop coverage. When Republicans in Congress say that they're not disenrolling people or making those cuts, we know that they are because the policies cause people to disenroll, and the same thing holds true here.

The proposed $30 premium is better than the May Revise proposal of $100 a month, but people will still drop coverage because they'll be making that calculus. Can I pay this Medi-Cal premium or do I need to put food on the table? We also could include exemptions for hardship and could be potentially look into community benefit funds for making some of these payments. I think there are ways to mitigate these harms.

The freeze on new enrollment, which the Legislature proposes to extend to all UIs immigrants, should have a more robust grace period for those who fall off due to inability to pay or other hardships. Basic dental could include preventive care. Health access calls on the Legislature to reconsider conceding so many of the harmful policies proposed in the revise or at the very least to ensure cuts are time limited and implemented to minimize impact. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon. Michelle Johnston with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. And we want to thank you all first for your work to reduce the impact of the healthcare cuts on persons with chronic illness and disabilities. We particularly appreciate the increase of the Medi-Cal asset limit, the rejection of the proposed cap on IHSS overtime, the increase of funds to support Covered California premium subsidies, and the funding for pharmacy benefit manager licensure and reporting, which is a great step that can be improved also by the passage of SB 41.

We remain very concerned about the impact that implementing prescription utilization management strategies, such as prior authorization and step therapy, will have on persons with MS. These requirements can delay them from receiving a prescribed medication. It also creates additional burden on providers.

Physicians reported that they and their staff spend an average of 13 hours per week completing prior authorizations. Although insurers utilize step therapy as a means to control cost, the research has demonstrated that step therapy can actually lead to higher spending over time. For people living with diseases such as MS, prolonging ineffective treatment and delaying access to the right treatment may result in disease progression, relapses, worsening disability, and other damage from the disease. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon. Kim Lewis representing Aspiranet. And want to speak on item 271 and express our thanks for inclusion of the 31.5 million for our foster family agencies as we grapple with the insurance crisis so that we can continue to serve our children and youth in our care and foster care.

On issue item number 222, the Emergency Child Care Bridge, we, for Children Now, we understand the deep difficult budget situation that we are in and appreciate Legislature pushing back on the administration's deep cut to that program and not undoing all the progress that we've made in recent years to the program and ask that you steadfast and holding the line at this number for as you go into negotiations with the Governor. Thank you.

Thank you.

Nicole Wordelman on behalf of the Children's Partnership. Greatly appreciative of the investment in the ACEs Aware Program. Grateful for the remediation of the Governor's proposals, but very disappointed about the targeted cuts to the undoc population. On behalf of Orange County, we are also grateful for the investment into the foster families agencies.

Thank you.

Good afternoon. Linda Nguy with Western Center on Law and Poverty. We appreciate the Legislature's budget rejects the egregious cuts targeted at older adults and people with disabilities by reinstating the asset test at to a more reasonable amount and rejecting cuts to IHSS and long term care, as well as efforts to reimagine CalWORKs to be more family centered.

However, we oppose the discriminatory Medi-Cal cuts to immigrant families, including those who are lawfully present, which will permanently lock people out of health access and impose still unaffordable premiums. While the Legislature's budget is better, these policies will still result in terminations. We urge rejection of a two tier Medi-Cal system or at minimum the fees be time limited so permanent harm is prevented. We urge looking at revenue solutions rather than balancing the budget on the backs of low income Californians. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Josh Gauger on behalf of the Chief Probation Officers of California, speaking to the Juvenile Justice Realignment Block Grant trailer bill language. As a reminder, just two years ago, the state closed down the Division of Juvenile Justice and sent to the counties the most violent and high needs youth and young adults, promising that the necessary funding would be there to provide the needed supervision and support to help rehabilitate and educate these individuals while maintaining public safety.

Since this promise, state budgets have eroded the state local probation partnership, making it harder for probation to supervise and support this high needs population. This trailer bill language is anti judicial discretion and we are concerned the trained experts in this space continue to be ignored in developing policy. The results will end up harming public safety, and more young justice involved individuals may end up in the adult system. We look forward to further conversations to try to resolve any concerns. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Emma Jungwirth on behalf of the California State Association of Counties. Counties are grateful for the Legislature's delays, modification, and rejections of many of the proposed cuts to vital safety net programs that serve California's most vulnerable populations. These health and social services programs are under federal scrutiny, and premature cuts would result in additional county administrative pressure and take away from the direct service delivery. Just a few points I want to highlight.

Counties appreciate the Legislature's investment of additional funding for housing and homelessness programs that have a proven track record of success, including Bringing Families Home, Home Safe, and HDAP. Counties are appreciative appreciate the modification of the reinstatement of the Medi-Cal asset limit as well as the modified reductions to FURS.

Finally, counties are grateful to see the proposed adoption of trailer bill language related to addressing the funding gaps for county administration of CalWORKs and IHSS. Lastly, we are in respectful opposition to the modified trailer bill language for the Juvenile Justice Realignment Block Grant and align our comments with those of CPOC. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Ryan Souza on behalf of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and APLA Health. First, we'd just like to thank you for the proposal to adopt the ADAP Rebate Fund Programs that are experiencing federal loss. It's really critical, and we appreciate your action on that.

Second, we want to appreciate the action in item 107, all of the Administration's cuts to the Department of Public Health, the rejection of those cuts. And then finally, action previously taken in a Subcommittee hearing, but just want to reinforce our thankfulness for the cuts that were originally proposed for the California Overdose Prevention and Harm Reduction Initiative. I want to thank you for that as well. Thank you so much.

Chair, on behalf of Essential Access Health, want to thank you for supporting women's reproductive health in this budget, specifically the backfill for federal withheld funds to Title 10 program. Very much appreciated. Also for the restoration of the Reproductive Justice Fund, item 109, as well as the restoration of the Prop 56 dollars.

Looking forward, we do hope to identify additional funds to support some of those other abortion funds programs knowing that we have the federal threats coming for us consistently. On behalf of Nourish California, support the rejection of the trigger language to the CFAP expansion and the additional funding to the Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program, item 233 and 268.

On behalf of the Public Health Institute, appreciate and support your rejection of the elimination of the California Reduction Disparities Program, item 107. And lastly, on behalf of the Local Health Plans, very much appreciate your rejection of the medical loss ratio. Thank you for your time.

Good afternoon, Chair and Members. Adrienne Shilton with the California Alliance of Child and Family Services. We just want to extend our sincere thanks to the Subcommittee and the Legislature for your restoration of critical funding for programs that serve our most vulnerable children, youth, and families in California, including our foster youth.

So first, want to extend our thanks for the $31.5 million emergency bridge funding ask for our foster family agencies in California. As you know, this is a critical lifeline to keep these programs open while we work on a more comprehensive solution to address our insurance crisis.

We're supportive of the restoration of some funding for the Family Urgent Response System Program, as well as the restoration of funding for the Bringing Families Home, your restoration of the cuts for the Mental Health Wellness Act, and lastly, for the rejection of the cuts to the California Reducing Disparity Project. So thank you very much for your partnership.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair. Tiffany Whiten with SEIU California. Just really wanted to give our sincere appreciation for the rejection of the cuts to IHSS overtime and for your overall commitment to preserving long term care within Medi-Cal. And that goes along with your modified proposal to the asset test.

Appreciation for rejecting the elimination of the DSP workforce training and development, as well as appreciation for your modified proposal for FURS, as well as the adoption of proposals and investments related related to CalWORKs. And then finally, thank you for your LMC workforce training funding, as well as the All Payers Claims database funding. Thank you so much.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair. Yasmin Peled on behalf of Justice in Aging. We appreciate that the Legislature rejected many of the harmful cuts targeted towards older adults by reinstating the asset limit to a more reasonable amount, rejecting the cuts to IHSS overtime and travel hours, and rejecting cuts to IHSS and long term care for immigrant communities as well as investing additional funds into Home Safe and HDAP.

However, we are disappointed that the Legislature's budget maintains freezing access to Medi-Cal for undocumented and UIS populations, as well as charging premiums and eliminating the adult dental benefit. We align our comments with Health Access and the Western Center on Law and Poverty. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair. My name is Karli Holkko, here today on behalf of CalPACE and the 35 programs of all inclusive care for the elderly serving over 24,000 medically complex older adults across California. We are grateful for the Legislature's thoughtful and balanced approach to this year's budget. Your work helps preserve the health and social services that older adults rely on and it creates a more sustainable path forward for the growth of PACE.

We strongly support the Legislature's modifications to the Governor's January and May proposals, delaying the pace rate freeze until July 2027 and capping the DHCS maintenance and operations fee at 0.25% for one year while also pairing it with the stakeholder process offers stability while allowing us to work together on long term solutions.

We also applaud your proposal to increase the Medi-Cal asset limit, helping more older adults stay in their homes without being forced to forced to spend down their savings to qualify. We deeply appreciate the thoughtful conversations we've had with both the Administration and the Legislature this year. Thank you for your continued support of PACE and the older adults we serve. We look forward to ongoing collaboration. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Olga Shilo with the California Association of Health Plans. We appreciate the Legislature's rejection of the Medi-Cal minimum medical loss ratio. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Kristy Wiese on behalf of the San Diego Food Bank. Thank you very much for the support for the proposal to redirect funding towards our diaper banks. For families who rely on the diaper bank to help them meet their needs, their children's needs, and get through every month when they're a little short, it's very impactful.

Thank you for that. On behalf of the California Hospital Association, CHA remains opposed to to the sweep of the Prop 35 funds. These funds were intended to add specialty and primary care services as well as behavioral health needs, and we ask you to modify that proposal. Thank you.

Good afternoon. My name is Mariya Kalina from the California Collaborative for Long Term Services and Supports. Here on behalf of our members to thank the Legislature for preserving access for older adults, people with disabilities, and caregivers in this budget. We know it's a tough one.

Thank you so much for kind of lessening the impact of the Medi-Cal asset limit, for funding housing programs including HDAP and Home Safe. Thank you so much for preserving IHSS for people with disabilities, older adults, and we look forward to continued partnership. We know it's going to continue to be tough over the next couple of years. Thank you.

Hello. My name is Felicia Chan. I'm a counselor with the East Bay Asian Youth Center. I'm here on behalf of California Reducing Disparities Project. So thank you deeply for rejecting the funding cuts so that we can continue running our programs to reach our most vulnerable youth. Thank you so much.

Good afternoon, Subcommittee. I want to thank you, your honorable doctor Chair and Members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Ebony Harper. I'm a trans health advocate at the Gender Health Center and co-chair of the Lieutenant Governor's Trans Advisory Council. I want to sincerely thank you for keeping the California Reducing Disparities Project in the proposed budget.

These vital programs are needed now more than ever. It is a lifeline for our communities, especially black, brown, indigenous, trans, queer, and immigrant folks who are too often left behind in traditional systems of care. Your decision to reserve the funding shows that you're listening, that you value community defined solutions, and that equity isn't just a talking point, it's a part of the budget. Thank you again for your leadership. We see you and we appreciate you.

Good afternoon. Yesena Jimenez with End Child Poverty in California, and also as a proud family member of undocumented relatives. While we thank the Legislature for rejecting and modifying many of the May Revision cuts to health and human services programs, this budget still includes steep cuts that directly impact our immigrant Californians who are under attack by this federal government.

We stand in proud solidarity with the comments of our colleagues at Western Center and Health Access and urge your rejection of a discriminatory Medi-Cal System. Our coalition supports a $10 million investment in CHIRP for unaccompanied minors, but it's not enough.

We urge the Legislature and Administration to provide a full $60 million requested by our immigrant communities who are facing 30 to 60 days of ICE raids. On items 233 and 254, we applaud the rejection of the CFAP trigger and continued implementation of the Food4All Program. On item 235, we are thrilled to see the Legislature build on the May Revise to reimagine CalWORKs. It has taken us three years to get to this point and we should be feel proud of this achievement.

And lastly, we are glad that the Legislature considered progressive revenues but are deeply disappointed that they were not included in this agreement to achieve a more equitable outcome. Our budgets are statements of values, and our communities lives are on the line. We urge you to continue forward on those that progress. Thank you.

Good afternoon. I'm Meg Snyder with Axiom Advisors here on behalf of Prime Home Health. We support a continued dialogue around rate increases for private duty nurses. We hope to see a rate that allows for California's medically fragile children to be cared for by experts at home, and we appreciate your consideration. Thank you.

Good afternoon. My name is Jack Kearns. I'm a member of the End Child Poverty Coalition. We applaud the Legislature for rejecting the Governor's proposal to eliminate IHSS for undocumented individuals and cap overtime for IHSS providers. It is essential that California continues to remain steadfast in protecting undocumented Californians in response to an onslaught by the federal government.

We also appreciate the Legislature's continued work to maximize enrollment to fight summer child hunger and maximize the $800 million in federal food aid. Children are increasingly making the choice between going hungry and getting a job, working long hours in dangerous conditions for exploited and employers to make ends meet for themselves and their families.

Providing food assistance is a vital way to help children in poverty focus on what's important, getting a good education and enjoying their childhood. Lastly, we thank the Legislature for providing CDSS requests for ongoing funding to enroll eligible foster youth in HOPE accounts. Thank you.

Good afternoon. My name is Jackie, and I'm a member of the End Child Poverty California Coalition. We thank the Legislature for rejecting and modifying many of the May Revision's cuts to health and human services programs. However, some of these cuts fall short in the face of investing in foster use and child resources.

Though the restoration of $10 million is a step towards a more equitable playing field, we are deeply disturbed to see that certain progressive revenues were not included in the agreement. Budgets reflect our priorities, and now more than ever, our most underserved communities are at risk. Regarding on items 231 and onward with foster youth, we thank the Legislature for preserving funds for vital programs that support the well being of foster youth children, the adoption process, and relative caregiver programs.

Now regarding Bringing Families Home and Home Safe, items 269 to 270, we applaud rejection of the cuts to highly effective programs, programs that not only reduce the number of families in the child welfare system but increase family reunification to prevent foster care placement in the first place. Lastly, regarding diaper Items 277, we support the supply of diapers to all newborns in California regardless of of family income. Please allow California to set a precedent that leaves no child left behind. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair. Rosanna Carvacho Elliott, here on behalf of the Early Care and Education Consortium. We are a national association of high quality child care providers. I appreciate this Committee continuing to hold the Administration's feet to the reef fire on the alternative rate methodology.

We do see in the budget that there's discontinued reporting to you all and the Legislature. I think the concern for us is that we really need to get the alternative rate methodology in statute. We understand it's a tough budget year, but getting that in statute with some guardrails for the Administration is incredibly important.

I don't know that we can continue to count on just reporting back to the Legislature. And then additionally, I would like to say, while it's still a little unclear, it looks like there may be a six month window where providers are no longer paid based on enrollment, not attendance. I see Elizabeth shaking her head, so hopefully I'm incorrect there. And if that's the case, that's great. But providers do need to be paid based on enrollment, not attendance. So thank you very much.

Good afternoon. Beth Malinowski with SEIU California on behalf of CCPU, Child Care Providers United. While the DSS budget recognizes the need to continue the state's commitment to fair reimbursement that covers the actual cost of providing childcare, makes additional investments in childcare access, the new investment authorized in this budget will be undermined by a lack of adequate progress toward fair pay. We call on the Legislature to support childcare providers currently at the table to negotiate a new kind with a final three party budget agreement that reflects stronger progress toward that goal.

Moving to the DHCS budget. As a proud partner in the Health4All Coalition, we stand firm behind our commitment for health for all Californians and ask the Legislature to do so too. At a time when California values and people are under attack, we cannot treat Californians differently depending on their immigration status. Lastly, we look forward to working with all of you in future conversations on the large employer contribution required for employers with employees on Medi-Cal. Thank you.

Kristi Foy on behalf of the California Clinical Laboratory Association. Regarding item number 126 for clinical laboratory fees, and we wanted to thank the Legislature for modifying the trailer bill language and for keeping the fee structure in statute, and we look forward to working with stakeholders in the Department to develop this item. So thank you.

Rita Medina, Deputy Director of the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California. While we've appreciated the conversations that have gotten us here to today's proposal, reductions in premiums and delaying some of the most harmful cuts is absolutely not enough, and the Legislature must do better by immigrant families.

This proposal ultimately cements the two tiered system that you've been hearing about from our colleagues in our state based on immigration status and with absolutely no end date. In practice, any future freezes and implementation of premiums are going to be barriers and they will result in cuts. I don't think that we can overstate that.

We saw the impacts of administrative disenrollments alone this past year, and we know what impacts that had on the Latino community. Folks falling off because of administrative reasons. Adding premiums on top of that will only further these impacts. Our immigrant communities are under attack, and during a time when we see families being ripped apart with breadwinners being impacted, our families do not need another bill to have to worry about. They just need access to health care.

The Legislature must seek equitable and long term solutions like raising revenues to ensure that corporations pay their fair share and that the budget isn't being balanced on the back of Latino and immigrant communities. And we align our comments with our partners at Western Center, Health Access, and others in the Health4All Coalition. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Carlos Marquez on behalf of the County Welfare Directors Association. First on CalWORKs, we really appreciate your support adopting the reimagine package and retaining the savings from those streamlining efforts within the single allocation.

And and thank you also for adopting placeholder trailer bill language that would require the Administration to align the chronic underfunding of the single allocation with program expectations. We also want to remark on in home support services. We appreciate the CFCO phased in approach, but we remain concerned about implementations from the penalty pass through.

We do thank you for the placeholder TBL on IHSS CFCO. We thank you for additional funding for Home Safe, Bringing Families Home, and the HDAP Housing Program, and we support the appropriate right sizing of the FURS and Emergency Child Care Bridge Program. So thank you for that.

We also support the increase in the Medi-Cal asset limit and thank you for investment in the FFA Insurance Stabilization Funds. Finally, we appreciate you all removing rejecting the trigger for the tiered rate structure, and we look forward to working with you all to ensure counties can successfully implement TRS. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Craig Pulsipher on behalf of Equality California and a coalition of organizations committed to advancing health equity in strong support of items 107, 108, and 109. Really appreciate the Legislature rejecting the proposed code cuts to the Office of Health Equity, including roughly $60 million for the California Reducing Disparities Project, support for LGBTQ Foster Youth, the LBTQ Health Equity Initiative, and the Reproductive Justice Fund.

As you know, these programs are already up and running providing vital services, cutting funding midstream makes no sense. So really appreciate the Legislature protecting these vital programs quality. California also really appreciates the additional investment in the TGI Wellness and Equity Fund as well as the ADAP package to protect against cuts to HIV prevention at the federal level. Thank you.

Good afternoon, chair and Members. My name is Tyesha Watts with the California Academy of Family Physicians. We appreciate the legislation's steadfast advocacy to protect healthcare access in light of the governor's proposed cuts. We're especially grateful for the rejections of cuts to Prop 56 and unspent public health funds, including the Reproductive Justice Fund.

CFP is a proud recipient of this grant and in the first year we were able to educate over 1000 primary care clinicians in abortion and reproductive health care. And if we are on track to receive the funding, we will 9,000 more primary clinicians to that list. We also oppose any cuts to Medi Cal Program for undocumented individuals.

While the legislation's proposal is an improvement, CFP maintains that Healthcare is a human right. Everyone, regardless of immigration status, deserves access to high affordable, high quality care. We also oppose the implementation of prior authorization and step therapy requirements which restrict timely access to medications.

Finally, we urge you to protect Prop 35 funding to ensure primary care providers receive the rate increases they deserve to continue serving Medi Cal populations. Congratulations. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair. I'm Sodalia King with UDW AFSCME Local 3930 for IHS. We are grateful for the rejection of the overtime cuts and other cuts that harm seniors and folks with disabilities.

We also encourage the Legislature to determine new revenue pathways and to consider us a partner to do so as part of the Child Care Providers United.

We are glad to see the Legislature invest funds in child care above the Governor's Budget and appreciate the Legislature's acknowledgment that the state must keep its commitment to pay child care providers the full cost of providing care providing quality care. And we agree that families urgently need the 12,000 new slots.

We are here to redouble our efforts at the table and with the Legislature and Governor to ensure that our contract in this year's state budget increases providers rates. Now. Now is the time that the Governor and Legislature keep their promises to California's working families and providers. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Jason Sullivan Halpern, Director of the California Long Term Care Ombudsman Association and on behalf of the 35 local long term care ombudsman programs across California.

We just want to extend our sincerest thanks for voting to include 15.9 million in existing special funds or reserves to support these programs over the next three years in the budget act. This critical funding will enable our programs to fulfill their vital state and federal mandates while also expanding equitable and timely to ombudsman services Throughout California.

In some regions, a single paid staff ombudsman serves an entire community. With this investment, those programs will be able to hire additional staff and recruit more volunteers, strengthening our collective ability to safeguard the health, safety and dignity of residents of long term care facilities.

As we approach World Elder Abuse awareness day on June 15, we find it especially meaningful that a quarter of this funding will go towards the program's work investigating and responding to cases of elder abuse and neglect facilities.

We're deeply grateful to the Legislature for recognizing and prioritizing the needs of older adults and adults with disabilities in long term care, especially in the face of this difficult budget year. We just deeply thank you for your leadership and commitment. Thank you.

Stacy Hiramoto with REMCO, the Racial and Ethnic Mental Health Disparities Coalition on behalf of over 40 organizations that make up the California Reducing Disparities Project. We really want to thank all the Members of this Committee for asking the thoughtful questions and understanding that if this funding were cut, then hundreds of people would be out of their programs.

And I know you recognize that and we appreciate that. I also want to thank you for restoring the Mental Health Wellness act funds. We really believe that the Commission for Behavioral Health is off to a better start now with a new Director. Thank you very much.

Wish that the Medi Cal and undocumented could go differently, but thank you very much again for the crdp.

Good afternoon, My name is Rosie Rosas from La Familia Counseling Center. Thank you for the recommendations not cutting the funds for CRDP programs. Thank you again.

Hello, Good afternoon everyone. My name is Jesse Armenta from La Familia Counseling Center and we'd just like to take some time to thank you all for your recommendations not to cut one of the California Reducing Disparities programs.

It's an evidence based program which is providing cultural services to various different communities and that is very important, especially when it comes around mental health and isolation. So thank you for taking the time and consideration.

Good afternoon Chair and Members. My name is Iraj Firouz and I am here on behalf of the Muslim American Society Social Service Foundation. We appreciate your decision to reject the proposed CRDP budget cuts. This revision would have had a direct and detrimental impact on the mental health services provided to immigrant communities through the Shifa for Today program.

Your support helps these vital services remain accessible to those who really need them. Thank you.

Zabi Ullah Hassan I'm here on behalf of Muslim American Social Service Foundation. We would like to thank you for your recommendation not cutting the CRDP budget which is the only mental health program with big impact on the community level. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Emily Shabard with California Disability Services Association will try to keep my comments short. Appreciate the efforts from the Legislature to outline a balanced budget given the tough fiscal situation we're in regarding the items under the Department of Developmental Services.

We'd like to raise our Support for item 147, the trailer Bill focused on removing barriers to employment services for Californians with idd. In line with that item, we'd also like to Support for item 166 that would focus on increasing transparency and effectiveness of these programs.

Additionally, we would like to thank the Committee for pushing back on the elimination of the direct support professional workforce development funding and holding true to the commitment of professionalization for these vital workers. And then finally, in regards to item 149, we do remain in opposition to the acceleration of the hold harmless provisions.

CDSA is concerned about the impact that this low cost one time cost saving measure could have on the the service system in the future. To ensure consistent access to these services. We'd ask for a reconsideration of this item and would be happy to have further conversations around that. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Monica Madrid with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, CHIRLA and we are here. We want to first align our comments on the Food for All section with in Childhood poverty. We're part of the Food for All Coalition.

Also we want to support the legislative proposal to reject capping IHSS overtime and travel time to 50 hours for 19 years plus. We also support the rejection of the elimination for IHSS for undocumented immigrants.

And we are in opposition to all of the cuts proposed cuts for undocumented immigrants including we're actually really disappointed in the Legislature for not coming up with a solution to the proposed Medi Cal freeze for undocumented immigrants and other immigrants with unsatisfactory immigration status.

And we really want to make sure that you guys come back to the table and come up with better solutions to make sure that these discriminatory premiums and discriminatory pauses to a community that pays billions of dollars of taxes to the State of California each year that they can maintain the services. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Jaime Morgan with the American Heart Association here to express our support and gratitude for funding the CalFresh fruit and Vegetable EBT pilot program. With 1 in 5 Californians reporting food insecurity, this program is critical to reducing hunger and increasing access to healthy food. So thank you so much for your support.

Good afternoon. Chloe Hermosillo with the California Immigrant Policy Center, proud member of the Health for All Coalition, we appreciated seeing the removal of the trigger language tied to the California Food Assistance Program expansion. No Californian should experience food insecurity due to their place of birth.

We also want to express our gratitude for rejecting the proposed cuts to ihss. At the same time, we are concerned that the Legislature's budget proposal maintains key elements of the governor's plan to freeze Medi Cal Enrollment, introduce monthly premiums and eliminate dental coverage completely for Californians with unsatisfactory immigration status.

These proposed changes move away from the state's stated commitment to expanding health care access for all. We urge the Legislature to protect health care access for all Californians and not mere harmful federal restrictions that target immigrant communities. We also support the $10 million investment in Chirp for unaccompanied minors, but it falls short.

We urge the Legislature and Administration to meet the full 60 million requests from immigrant communities, especially as they endure ongoing ICE raids.

Thank you greetings Madam Chair, Committee Members. Dr. Lawanda Wesley, a member of ECE Coalition and Child Care Resource Center, former preschool teacher, single mother of five and grandmother of six. Thank you for the ECE spaces that have been allocated, but we are disappointed with the COLA and it not being there for the 2025-26 budget.

We continue requ request that the Legislature adopt a framework for the alternative methodology and that it be codified into law for it to be fully implemented. Thank you.

Luanne Nguyen, Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organization. It's been a very hard budget year and I just want to say thank you to all of you for being there and listening to all of us when we provide public comments and for the meetings that you take, including with the Administration.

There is a lot of heroic work here in this budget. Frankly, you guys are helping us move the CalWORKS program along, including adding a no 90 day sanction period. Thank you for that. Thank you for saying no to the IHSS overtime cuts.

Thank you so much for keeping our housing programs intact so that these kids in the child welfare system and these adults in adult protective Services can have housing.

Absolutely heroic work on the housing front and then with that additional heroic work on your part for not accepting the triggers to the child care funding and to the CFAP program and to the child welfare system, which are the places that our vision is set. And we need to be able to allow that to happen.

And in order for that to happen, we need to raise revenue so we still have time left as we move forward to raise revenue. If not this June two way budget agreement, but in the future.

And then finally, we would be amiss if we didn't talk about discrimination in our current society and the way that we identify people and categorize people and whether that has any scientific base in it at all when we're up against human beings and their need.

And so we ask you to think about where you are at in history and to push back on things that are discrimination and that treat human beings for who they are. They deserve to be treated well and to be given health care. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Mariam Suswatino. I'm a staff attorney at the Child Care Law Center. We thank both the Legislature and the Legislative Women's Caucus for its leadership on childcare during this year's state budget process. Thus far.

However, like the may revise, the joint proposed budget continues to unfairly underpay childcare providers, upholding a racist policy with historical ties to enslavement and effectively shifting costs to California families with the least resources.

The state's current poverty level payments are forcing providers to either close their businesses or pass on the cost to families with child care subsidies through co payments to make up the difference between the true cost of care and what the state is willing to pay.

If state leaders do not increase providers pay starting July 12025 our fragile child care workforce will be pushed to brink of collapse. All Californians have something to gain from a state budget that pays child care providers fairly. Californian California's economic growth and prosperity rely on child care providers having what they need to operate thriving businesses.

This is how we strengthen California's child care and create more options for families which will protect all our communities during this time of uncertainty and economic threats and make our state even stronger.

Thank you.

Good afternoon. I am Silayan Quintanar, a Filipino caseworker with SOMCAN. I work in San Francisco with low income working class immigrant families, seniors, people with disabilities, single parents and BIPOC community.

The most vulnerable Members of our society, majority of whom live, pay to paycheck to paycheck and work very hard to keep food on the table and a roof over their head. I am here to share the stories of our community Members who rely on programs like Medi Cal, ihss, affordable housing, food and immigrant support programs.

We have an immigrant family, a single mother with three children, one of which has special needs and they count on medical to get their health services. We also have a senior who is on a fixed income. She gets $1,200 a month but her rent is 1,000. That's over 80% of her income going to rent.

And how can she afford to live? If she didn't have medical, she wouldn't be able to see her Doctor and get the services that she needs as well as ihss. So we urge you to reject the harmful cuts to IHSS medical and housing and food programs.

Also draw more from state reserves and reject the Governor's proposal to expand the costly film tax credit. And lastly, ensure sustainable revenue by closing corporate tax loopholes. Thank you very much.

Hi, good afternoon everyone. I'm Lucy Patricio from San Francisco. I came here to propose all my what I need and I am alone, living on my apartment and also disabled. So if the official will cut off the budget, how can I live with my fixed income?

I have to pay my rent to buy my food, my medicine, my doctor visit and also all my bills that I need to pay. How I'm going to survive for this. Thank you very much.

Good afternoon, I'm Wilhelmina Torres, 74 years old from San Francisco. When I heard about these budget cuts, I felt so sad and depressed because I have so many health issues and my husband and I are just staying in a senior housing because we have a very low income.

That's why we are very worried because we buy our food, our household and personal needs. And that's why I'm praying hard that God will touch the heart of all the government officials and grant them wisdom to solve our problems. Because we are very much affected, especially the seniors. Thank you.

Hi, good afternoon. My name is Dolores Nucal speaking in front of you. I am a 73 years old caregiver from San Francisco. I am here to please ask you not to cut the budget for ihss.

Please do not allow IHS caregiver job hours to be cut because we need those hours to fulfill our needs and to pay our bills. I hope you will grant our request not to cut the budget for IHS as well as medical, housing and food programs. Thank you very much.

Hello, good afternoon, my name is Jericho Cenaban. Please reject Governor Newsom May revision budget cuts because if this happened, my mother's job will be affected because she is working as a caregiver. All caregivers like my mother goes above and beyond their job description. They are extended family Members of the people they provide care for.

Especially majority of the people they care for are by themselves and whose family Members are far away. We urge you provide the same care our caregivers give to our seniors and people with disabilities by community caring about them in the California budget. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Angelica Kabande, Executive Director of SOMCAN. We are here to also express and extend our opposition against the budget cuts to IHSS workers program freezing medical and other vital services to our community.

We are really happy to hear that both houses are really taking serious consideration looking at this and also are hearing their constituent of not cutting this.

We are however, very disappointed in regards to the wording advancing the strongest ever statutory reforms of the California Environmental Quality act to promote housing in environmentally responsible location, boost economic development and employment and advance the state's climate goals. CEQA is very important to us in San Francisco.

It is key to reducing and mitigating air pollution, water contamination and climate impacts that the community must live with long after developers had made their profit and left. CEQA doesn't stop developments.

If anything, in fact it improves them by making sure developers reduce the harm their projects could cause on community like ours in San Francisco south of Market and the environment. Without CEQA we lose the ability to learn if projects in our neighborhoods will pollute our air, our water, add more traffic or damage our environment.

Without CEQA we lose the ability to voice our concern. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Ronald Coleman Baeza here on behalf of the California Pan Ethnic Health Network, CPEN. We support and appreciate the Legislature's rejection of the CRDP program and also the elimination of IHSS and long term care for immigrant communities.

However, we are profoundly disappointed with the Legislature that they could not find another path forward as it related to the Medi Cal proposal for undocumented immigrants and the UIs population. I mean, we're talking about legislating discrimination. We're talking about legislating, kicking people off of health care, coming up with tools so people are kicked off of health care.

People will die. From the governor's proposal, we knew it could be thousands, potentially hundreds of thousands, from the millions of people that up to a million people that would have been kicked off their rolls.

But the Legislature will have to live with the people that will die and the people that will get sicker because of this proposal that you're intentionally pushing forward. We align our comments with health access and urge the Legislature to mitigate the harms that are in this particular proposal.

It's a racist, discriminatory proposal and for this body to knowingly talk about health equity in this room and use it as a buzzword, but essentially lock in health disparities, particularly to Latino communities, it is unconscionable and we need to do better thank you.

Thank you Madam Chair, Eduardo Martinez here on two items. First, on behalf of all to mid pace, we want to align ourselves with Cal PACE and appreciate all the work of your Member of your staff to make this proposal workable and not harm PACE programs.

Secondly, on behalf of Western Dental, the largest Medi Cal dental provider, we also want to thank your team's work on delaying the cuts to Prop 56 supplemental payments for dentists. We look forward to working with you in the future to ensure that oral access to oral health is made maintained. Thank you.

Cher Gonzalez on behalf of my clients. First up, on behalf of my client, the American Diabetes Association regarding DHCS items, the ADA thanks this Committee for saving coverage of anti obesity medications and the Medi Cal program for the treatment of diabetes and obesity for our most vulnerable California.

On behalf of my clients, the Association of Northern California Oncologists and the Medical Oncology Association of Southern California, regarding HCAI items, we support this Committee's action to adopt trailer Bill Language to expand the Calorex program's contracting authority to address potential drug shortages such as the oncology drug shortage experienced in our state and across the nation in 2023.

Estimates project up to 500,000 cancer patients in our country were impacted by the shortage of just two drugs in 2023. We therefore urge any trailer bill language to include oncology drugs within the program's contracting authority.

And then finally, on behalf of my client, the Bleeding Disorders Council of California, formerly known as hc, we want to express our gratitude to this Committee for rejecting the May revision proposal to increase reinstate the asset test at $2,000 for individuals and $3,000 for couples in Medi Cal and replay.

We are thankful that you replaced it with an asset test of $130,000. While we would like to see this proposal rejected completely, we are grateful that this Committee chose to modify the proposal for our most vulnerable Californians. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Ryan Spencer, on behalf of a few clients.

First, on behalf of the American College of OBGYN's District Nine and the California Medical Association, we'd first like to thank you for rejecting the Governor's proposal to divert Prop 56 funding away from family planning and women's health and to keep that on track, we're also thankful for the trailbill language that would dedicate a portion of the Prop 35 money for reimbursement payments for family planning and abortion services.

As intended. However, ACOG and CMA, along with the California Podiatric Medical Association, the California Radiological Society, the California Society of Pathologists and Ochin remain truly disappointed that the remaining Prop 35 money remains as budgeted in the Governor's may revise and denies the promise that we made to the voters. So thank you for your time.

Good afternoon, My name is A.J. Fernandez. I am also with SOMCAN, South of Market Community Action Network in San Francisco. I just wanted to emphasize, extend and oppose out communities that would be greatly affected after the possible budget cutting of IHSS and Medicaid. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Ramon Bonifacio with Out of Market Community Action Network. I'm just really here to urge you guys to really support the community by rejecting those harmful cuts to IHSS medical, housing, food and immigrant immigrant support programs and also drove more from state reserves to avoid cutting those core services.

The reserves exist for those four times like this. With over 50.7 billion in Reserve, California can close the shortfall without placing the burdens on seniors, people with disabilities and low income families. Thank you.

Good afternoon Chairman. My name is Troy Boho with SOMCAN. Regarding the Governor's proposal, we want to emphasize our asks and urge you to reject the Governor's proposal to expand the costly film tax credit. Doubling this tax break to $750 million annually while cutting vital safety net services is indefensible.

We also urge you to ensure sustainable revenue by closing corporate tax loopholes and scrutinizing costly inequitable tax breaks. One of the state's largest corporate tax loopholes allows companies to stash profits in offshore tax havens resulting in an annual cost of over $3 billion.

We cannot continue to protect corporate profits while slashing the services that working people rely on. Thank you.

Hello, my name is PJ Eugenio with SOMCAN.

So as community based organizations, service providers and advocates committed to equity and dignity for all Californians, we urge you to oppose the devastating cuts proposed in the governor's 2025-26 May revision and fight for a state budget that protects the well being of our most vulnerable resident, not one that abandons them.

And this is from our organization Somcan and 26 other organizations from the Bay Area and the state.

And those organizations are Jobs with Justice, San Francisco, Samkan Senior and Disability Action Mujeres, Unidos Activas, Filipino Community Center, Trabadores Unidos Workers United, Poder, Homi Council of Community Housing Organization, SF Tenants Union, Filipino Worker Center, Bil Soro Housing Program, Amado Kaya Initiative Lead Filipino Some of Pilipinas Housing Rights Committee, Kapua Health Collective, SF Rising Race and Equity and All Planning Coalition, Affordable Housing Alliance, SF Anti Displacement Coalition, Filipino alliance for Multicultural Empowerment, North Beach Tenant Committee, Fierce Coalition, Filipino American Educator Association of California and NAFA NorCal.

Thank you.

Alison Ramey on behalf of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, we wanted to express our appreciation for the approach outlined in the PBM trailer Bill that looks to have the Department of Managed Healthcare license PBMS and seeks some extensive reporting by PBMS to OCA and HCAI to make sure that you have the right data before making sweeping policy decisions.

We do want to say that it's really important that the data reported is kept confidential so that we don't have an unintended consequence of higher drug prices. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Kelly Larue with Resilient Advocacy on behalf of two organizations, PHI Air Ambulance and the California Association of Air Medical Services. We are hopeful that we'll be included in the final three party agreement.

We have been requesting for over two years the inclusion of of a Medi Cal supplemental payment or a base rate increase because historically our supplemental payment came from a fee on moving vehicle violations that was ended.

So it's been almost two years that we've been surviving on a 20% reimbursement rate that covers only 20% of the cost of a service. So we are doing our best but we're hopeful to be included in that final three party agreement so we can maintain services across California. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Raymond Castillo. I'm with SOMCAN, coming from San Francisco. I urge you guys to reject the Governor's Budget proposal. You heard it from a lot of people, the impact it will have. But I also want to remind you guys, it's only been what, two years since the pandemic ended, or so called ended.

It targeted the same people, people with disability, our seniors, people who paved the way for a lot of us, many of us you know, and this mayor. The Governor's Budget targets the same people. We should be protecting these folks, you know.

So please continue to oppose the Governor's Budget and fight alongside all of us and protect our immigrants community. Thank you.

Good afternoon Madam Chair and Members. Christopher Sanchez with the Mesa Veda Group on behalf of Karez and the Central American Resource center and Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, two organizations that are on the ground right now providing immigration legal services in Los Angeles and our one California recipients.

We appreciate the additional funding for church but would also request additional funding overall for immigration legal services. This is not the worst that we're going to see from this President as it relates to immigration. We're seeing that he's canceling services for children who need medical services.

We know that there was Ayes enforcement today in San Jose at an elementary school. So this is just getting started. And then lastly, echoing all the comments of our colleagues from the Health for All Coalition, thank you, Madam Chair.

Madam Chair, Rand Martin, on behalf of Aveanna Healthcare, just with a friendly reminder that if there's still $175 million that you're looking to not cut, that moving children with complex medical conditions from hospital settings into private duty nursing is a really good way to achieve that.

I'd also like to say on behalf of the AIDS Health Care Foundation, we appreciate the fact that the Legislature is making progress in rejecting some of what the governor's proposed relative to medical and UIS beneficiaries. We think the Legislature needs to do more.

AHF represents a lot of people who are uis and are going to be out of service altogether if we don't find some way to protect them.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Good afternoon. Timothy Burr, on behalf of Maxim Healthcare Services. Maxim is a private duty nursing provider, private home healthcare services to the most medically fragile children and others in our state. We serve 21,000 patients through 21 offices across California. Here to express our disappointment for not being in the Legislature's Legislature's budget.

We remain hopeful and remain working as we look to provide a reimbursement rate increase to PDN providers. As the previous witness had stated, we submitted a study that this Committee and staff and others have that showed and demonstrated that a 40% rate increase for PDN services would save the state $175 million annually.

That's money that is more critical now to the state than ever. And we appreciate your time and we'll continue to work with you to get this right. Thank you.

Before you begin, I just want to give notice to any Members of the Committee that we will be voting in about five minutes. So you probably want to come down now. Thank you. You may begin. Yes.

Monica Kirkland, State Policy Director for Senior Services Coalition of Alameda County. First, we want to thank you for recommending continued funding for the Home Safe program to help cover and keep our most vulnerable population housed. We also do support the funding for the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program and we support your IHS rejections.

And we thank you for the modification of the Medi Cal Asset Limit Test. And we hope the Legislature can find alternatives to the Medi Cal delays for healthcare and dental proposals for the future.

Thank you, Madam Chair Committee Members representing federal health qualified center in the Bay Area. The cuts to the reimbursement for community health centers would be the devastating. They probably go bankrupt. Let me draw you to the biblical story of Solomon's judgment. Two men appear before the King Solomon claiming to be the mother of the same child.

To determine the true mother, Solomon proposes that the baby be cut in half and one receive one half. One woman is willing to let the baby be cut. The other begs Solomon to give the baby rather than have it killed. Solomon recognizes the true mother's selfish love and gives the baby to her.

You're in a position to be Solomon. Please exercise his wisdom. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair. Excuse me. Keeley o' Brien with Western Center on Law and Poverty. First, we wanted to say we appreciate the Legislature for showing leadership around food justice by rejecting the governor's proposal to subject the expansion of CFAP to older adults to a DOF trigger. We support the $10 million investment in Chirp.

But like our colleagues, we urge the Legislature and the Administration to provide the full $60 million requested by attorneys and community who are under threat as we speak. Especially in times like these. We need to continue to uphold our commitments to immigrant families.

We appreciate the Legislature's continued work to maximize enrollment to fight summer hunger and support for HOPE accounts. We really supported the transferring of the diapers to the proven diaper bank programs.

We thank the Legislature for preserving funds for the FERS and emergency child care bridge programs and applaud rejection of the cuts to the bringing families home and home safe programs. We also thank the Legislature for looking at some revenue solutions and for preventing much of the harm from proposals to in the May revision.

But we would love to see additional revenue solutions while some of our vital programs are still facing cuts. Thank you for your time.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair and Members. Raymond Contreras with Lighthouse Public Affairs. On behalf of Falwell, we would like to start by thanking this Committee and the Legislature for including the 36 million in the budget for CalFresh fruit and vegetable EBT program. This program reduces health, improves public health, increases revenue for California farmers.

This funding would allow programs to restart this program to restart operate at its current 90 locations while also helping make sure healthy food is more affordable for 65,000 Cal households. Thank you for putting forward this effective, efficient and popular investment to make sure our food safety net is stronger.

Lastly, Folwell supports Legislature's proposals that would strengthen multiple complementary programs that either expand CalFresh or reach to the struggling to find each. Excuse me. Enough food outside of the CalFresh programs, such as restoring the 52 million in funding for Cal Food programs, continuing to push forward for food for all, funding for maintaining some books program.

Thank you very much.

Well, once again I want to thank everyone who came and spoke at Committee hearing today. Still waiting for the other Committee Members to come down so that we can vote. We are ready.

I hear a rumor that both Senators are here hiding behind a door. All right. Want to welcome Senator Wiener, who will be subbing in today, subbing in today. Can we please call roll? For quorum.

[Roll Call].

Quorum is present. We will now begin voting. We will--can I get a motion for the first batch?

I'll move it. Could I just make a comment on it?

Sure.

Thank you, and I, I know you made comments at the beginning, Madam Chair, and I was watching public comment remotely. So I want to--and I want to thank everyone who came out today.

So a lot of work went into this budget and we, you know, had some real concerns when the governor's May Revise came out and we made some adjustments to really retain California's deep commitment to broad access to healthcare.

Incredibly proud that California has always been nation-leading in our approach to expanding access to healthcare, including fully embracing the Medicaid expansion, the Affordable Care Act, creating Covered California, which has--it's not perfect--but it's been very successful, particularly compared to a lot of other states, and then expanding Medi-Cal to undocumented people of all ages.

We--in this budget--we scaled back significantly the governor's proposal around undocumented access to Medi-Cal, including reducing the proposed premium by 70% and delaying its implementation by two years and not applying it to youth or to seniors.

And then in addition for new enrollees, continuing to allow, after January 1, young people to enroll and also ensuring that if someone does fall--and that young people when they turn 19 will continue to be enrolled--and that if someone does fall off, they will have six months to re-enroll so we will not have a gotcha kind of situation, and so--and no one will be disenrolled.

So you know, we're in this horrific budget situation--and then we also delayed the community clinic, those cuts by two years, and so it gives us time and space to try to come up with any solutions that we can to really continue to support what is really the best, I think, public health system in the U.S. So again, thank you to the chair and thank you to everyone for all of the feedback today and the work continues. Thank you.

Thank you, and I mentioned this at the beginning, but really want to thank you, Senator Wiener and Pro Tem McGuire, for all of the work that you all have done with the very, very, very difficult budget year, very difficult negotiations and understand that what, that what you have before you, along with the staff with negotiations with the governor will not be easy either, so thank you. Okay, so we have a motion by Senator Wiener for the first batch. Please read.

The motion is to approve the staff recommendation for Items one through six, eight through 15, 17, 19, 21 through 23, 25, 28 through 31, 33 through 41, 43, 44, 46 through 50, 54, 55, 57 through 59, 61, 65, 69, 72, 73, 75, 76, 78, 80, 82, 84, 89, 92, 94, 96 through 98, 100, 101, 103, 105, 106, 110, 115, 117 through 19--sorry, 117 through 119--121, 122, 124, 125, 129 through 138, 141, 143 through 148, 150 through 163, 166 through 170, 172 through 192, 194 through 196, 198 through 215, 217, 219, 220, 227, 228, 232, 236, 237, 239 through 242, 244 through 249, 251, 252, 255 through 258, 260 through 261, 264, 266 through 271, 275, 277 through 278, and 280. [Roll Call].

Vote is two/zero. We'll leave the roll open. Can I have a motion for Item Number Two? Please read.

The motion is to approve the staff recommendation for Items 16, 20, 24, 26, 42, 45, 53, 60, 64, 66, 67, 70, 74, 77, 87, 91, 95, 108, 109, 120, 123, 139, 140, 142, 149, 171, 231, 233, 238, 250, 253, 254, and 259. [Roll Call].

That's two/zero. We'll leave the roll open. Can I get a motion for the third batch?

Sorry. Forget I'm the only one here.

Please read.

The motion is to approve the staff recommendation for Items Seven, 18, 27, 32, 51, 52, 56, 62, 63, 68, 71, 79, 81, 85, 86, 88, 90, 93, 99, 102, 104, 107, 111 through 114, 116, 126 through 128, 164, 165, 193, 197, 216, 218, 221 through 226, 229 through 230, 234, 235, 243, 262, 263, 265, 273 to--sorry--272 through 274, 276, and 279. [Roll Call].

Two/zero. We'll leave the roll open. Thank you all so much for coming. Thank you. All right. We're gonna leave it open for another five minutes. We will leave the roll open for another five minutes. We can open the roll for the first batch. Call the absent members.

[Roll Call].

Three/zero. That passes. Can we call the roll, the absent members for the second item?

[Roll Call]. It's two/one.

Two/one. That passes. And we'll open the roll for the third item. Please call the absent members.

[Roll Call].

Two/zero. That passes. Thank you all so much for your time today. This hearing is adjourned.