As you undoubtedly know, Assembly Republicans and Democrats STILL have yet to agree on a state budget.  The Governor is prepared to sign the Assembly budget.  Senate Democrats are ready to sign off on that budget.  But Senate Republicans are demanding $1 billion in more cuts, relaxing of environmental regulations, and other changes in law before they will sign off.  Because California’s Constitution requires a 2/3rds vote in the legislature to pass a budget (or any money bill), there must be 27 votes for the budget in the Senate.  There are 25 Democrats (who will all vote for the budget), so if any 2 of the 15 Senate Republicans vote for the budget, it will pass.  (The Assembly budget includes COLA and growth for child development and no cuts to child development.)

A full list of the Republicans cuts can be found at: http://republican.sen.ca.gov/pubs/070725_BudgetReductions.pdf

To date no Republican Senators have voted for the budget.  14 Republicans have been voting “no” on the budget.  One Republican, Abel Maldonado from the San Luis Obispo/Salinas area, has been abstaining rather than voting no.  He is a moderate Republican, and he has been saying there is a lot to like in the budget passed by the Assembly.  It appears that he may vote for the budget, if one more Republican will break ranks and vote for the budget. 

If you have not already e-mailed a Republican Senator, please do so NOW!  Also, if you live in the district of a Republican Senator, you can send a second e-mail, updating him on your situation -- especially if you are running out of cash and may need to close in the next few weeks.  Members in the areas of Abel Maldonado and Jeff Denham should especially e-mail these key Republicans.  And get your friends, relatives, colleagues and parents to e-mail them also!  The Senate Republicans, and their hometowns and e-mail addresses, are listed below.  Please e-mail the Senator listed who is closest to where you live or work.

The leader of the Senate Republicans, Dick Ackerman, has been saying that the late budget will not have much impact, because most state employees are being paid anyway, per court rulings.  He is ignoring the fact that child development programs, some school districts, foster care agencies, and many other service providers WILL be forced to close, as they run out of money, and their employees WILL be laid off until checks flow, if the Republicans continue to hold out.  TELL THE REPUBLICANS THE TRUTH – employees, children and families WILL BE HURT, unless they pass the budget very soon!

Your personal story is crucial to influencing the Republican Senators.  Make the delayed Budget a non-partisan personal issue for the legislators. 

For example:
“Continued delays will cause programs to close, low-income parents to miss work or school, lose jobs or scramble to find makeshift or more costly alternatives to their state subsidized childcare. For the young children in our programs, who are already at risk, this means unnecessary disruptions from their familiar and secure quality educational programs.”

Sample Message:
Subject: Vote Yes on the Assembly Budget

Dear Senator XXXXXXX,

Please vote YES on the Assembly budget, including the 4.53% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for child development programs. Without a signed budget, child development programs, some school districts, foster care agencies, and many other service providers will be forced to close and lay off staff until they receive their checks. Please help California’s neediest children and families by voting YES on the Assembly Budget!

Sincerely,

Name
Agency

You NEED to emphasize the impact on your specific programs and families. Tell your story with specifics.

Mass-Layoff Law
Members who might need to layoff 50 or more employees if this budget crisis continues for several weeks should be aware of California's "Mass Layoff" law.  This can be found in the California Labor Code, particularly sections 1400 and 1401.  In summary, if any company (including non-profits) lays off 50 or more employees, the company is required to give a 60 day prior notice to the employees to be laid off.  For example, if a non-profit child care agency needed to close due to the budget crisis, and 58 staff members would not be working until the agency re-opened (that is, would be laid off), and the agency sent layoff notices to those 58 staff members on August 5, the agency could not legally close their doors and layoff the staff until October 5.  (Public agencies, such as school districts and cities, are apparently not covered by this law.)