Children's Advocacy Institute

Executive Director

Robert C. Fellmeth

Council For Children

Thomas A. Papageorge

Council Chair

Birt Harvey, M.D.

Louise Horvitz, M.S.W.,

Psy.D.

Hon. Leon S. Kaplan

James B. McKenna

Paul A. Peterson

Gary F. Redenbacher

Gary Richwald, M.D.,

M.P.H.

Blair L. Sadler

Gloria Perez Samson

Alan Shumacher, M.D.

Owen Smith

University of San Diego

School of Law

5998 Alcalá Park

San Diego, CA 92110

(619) 260-4806

(619) 260-4753 (Fax)

926 J Street

Suite 709

Sacramento, CA 95814

(916) 444-3875

(916) 444-6611 (Fax)

Reply to:

□ San Diego

□ Sacramento

www.caichildlaw.org

The Sacramento Bee published this commentary on March 7, 2005

A pop quiz to test governor's ed policy

By Robert C. Fellmeth

1. The Schwarzenegger administration advocates "fiscal responsibility" and conservative principles by:

a.	Requiring the state to live within its means.

b.	Responsibly generating new revenues as needed to balance the budget.

c.	Burdening future taxpayers over the next twenty years with over $30 billion in bond and other debts.

2. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a child advocate who championed after-school child care through Proposition 49, and followed through with his commitment by:

a.	Insisting that California increase its percentage of children in preschool to at least the national median.

b.	Supporting increased pay for child care workers to honor the importance of their work.

c.	Proposing cuts in child care compensation rates, reducing and restricting care availability for the working poor and leaving his initiative entirely unfunded and moribund.

3. The governor's commitment to K-12 education is reflected in his:

a.	Insistence that California decrease class sizes, from its current ranking of 49th in the nation, to at least the national median.

b.	Advocacy for public investment in K-12 education, now among the bottom five in the nation, to levels at least above Alabama, West Virginia and Louisiana.

c.	Identification of "overspending" as the sole budgetary problem, and proposing the permanent subtraction of $2.3 billion from the minimum constitutionally guaranteed level for education - to move the state down to 49th in cost-adjusted investment.

4. Among the highest priorities of the administration is health coverage for children. Accordingly, the governor has:

a.	Removed barriers to enrolling children for health coverage.

b.	Worked to take full advantage of the 2-to-1 federal match to cover the 800,000 qualified children now uncovered.

c.	Proposed new premiums for Medi-Cal child coverage, reduced the number of children likely to be medically covered and left on the table more than $3 billion in federal money available to finance it.

5. One goal of the governor is to minimize unfair or excessive state taxes and fees wherever possible, and so he has:

a.	Insisted that special tax favors and exemptions be ended or justified so tax burdens will be equitably shared.

b.	Advocated that Proposition 13 be revised so that youth buying a home do not pay 10 to 12 times the property taxes of older adults owning property of identical value.

c.	Opposed any new revenue, except for large increases in tuition for students, fees imposed on foster and child care providers and higher premiums for public medical coverage.

6. Faced with a serious budget deficit of more than $9 billion, Schwarzenegger responded by:

a.	Forcing the prison guards and other groups receiving recent large pension and other increases to roll back those raises.

b.	Demanding that half of the deficit be cut by lower spending, and half by new revenues, as both Govs. Reagan and Wilson arranged under similar budget circumstances.

c.	Adding another $4 billion on top of the existing deficit by reducing the Vehicle License Fee from its 40-year level of 2 percent of the value of a car.

7. Schwarzenegger represents the average Californian against the "special interests" that have dominated Sacramento, expressing his independence by:

a.	Prohibiting special interest lobbyists from making job offers to his appointees.

b.	Asking the PACs to stop seeking tax exemptions and special favors at the capitol.

c.	Soliciting and collecting more political money from powerful monied interests in his first two years in office than any governor in state history.

Answers for all questions: "c"

About the writer:

Robert C. Fellmeth is a professor of public interest law and director of the Center for Public Interest Law, University of San Diego School of Law. Reach him at cpil@sandiego.edu.