GOVERNOR BROWN RELEASES 2012-13 BUDGET EARLY, DUE TO MIX-UP: No New Funding For Libraries Provided Governor Jerry Brown was scheduled to release his January 2012-13 Budget next Tuesday at 9 a.m., per the annual constitutional deadline. However, at some point today the Administration became aware that the Department of Finance had accidentally posted an early copy of the Governor’s 2012-13 Budget to its public website, which necessitated a quick change in plans for the Governor. At 1:30 p.m. we received word that the Governor would call the press corps together at 2:30 p.m. today to unveil the Budget a little ahead of schedule. When he subsequently met with the press, the Governor thanked them for convening with “relatively short notice. There are no secrets in government. The Budget was released earlier than planned.”

The Governor said that his focus for 2012-13 would be to push for his tax plan, which will appear on the November 2012 ballot (a half cent sales tax increase for five years and an increase in the income tax on $250K filers), as well as “paying down the wall of debt.” He announced significant cuts to welfare programs (totaling $1.5 billion) and child care programs and he announced another “trigger” plan affecting higher education and K-12 schools, should the tax plan not pass in November. The Governor provided no new funding for public library programs and, in fact, proposed a reduction to the State Library Administration.

You will recall that when the Governor and the Department of Finance announced they would be pulling the so-called “trigger” on massive reductions to UC, CSU, In Home Support Services, etc. in December, that action also included elimination of the $16 million in remaining funding for the California Library Services Act, the state literacy program, and the Public Library Foundation. In the Governor’s Budget released today, he does not restore any of the so-called “trigger cuts” for public libraries. In fact, the Governor’s Budget makes a $1.1 million cut to the State Library Administration Budget “to reflect a decrease in anticipated administrative workload resulting from 2011-12 trigger reductions that eliminated $15.9 million in local assistance programs.” The Budget document goes on to state, “Despite this reduction, the California State Library will continue to preserve California’s history and cultural heritage, and share its collection of historic documents with the citizens of California.”

Next Steps

As previously reported, in early March the Budget Subcommittees on Education Finance (one in the Senate and one in the Assembly) will begin their work, examining the Governor’s 2012-13 Budget. In the meantime, we will be working with legislators at the Capitol, encouraging them to build library funding back into the new State Budget. We are going to be leaning on all of you in the coming weeks to write letters to the members of the subcommittees, and then subsequently to the full Budget Committees. Next week we will send out another alert, confirming all of the 2012 subcommittee conferees, and providing legislator contact information, and some “talking points.” This is going to be a challenging year. Please look for an update from us in the coming days.

Carol Simmons, Executive Director

California Library Association

2471 Flores Street San Mateo, CA 94403

csimmons@cla-net.org

650-376-0886(ph)

650-539-2341 (fax)

www.cla-net.org

SUMMER WORSHOPS

Taught by Sandra Barton.

Fun with Writing

Tuesday, July 12^th, 6-8:30 p.m. 

Join us in exploring different writing methods, strategies, and other fun ways to get our brains geared toward the writing process.  This workshop is for teachers, tutors, and adult learners who would like to practice different, non-traditional ways to approach writing. We will aim to write and to look at some of writing’s different rhetorical components, such as: narration, description, cause / effect, and process The key concepts we will be focusing on are: vocabulary/word choice, brainstorming/drafting, and organizing/composing. You will leave this workshop with materials and fun, new ways to get started writing!

Introduction to Basic Math

Tuesday, July 26^th, 6-8:30 p.m. 

In this workshop, we are going to first learn why we DO or DON’T like math. There will be an exploration of how we learn and don’t learn math.  We will discuss the purpose of math in everyday life and different strategies of how it can be taught, as well as learned.  Throughout the workshop, we will be discussing vocabulary, and how teaching affects learning. The math content will focus on Multiplication, Division, Decimals, Fractions, and Percents.  The strategies offered in this workshop are intended for instructors, tutors, and adult learners.

          Come join me next year at ALLI to learn the skills and be a leader for yourself, and your community. I promise you the commitment for six months is worth the time and the effort it takes. When it’s all said and done for me, to take this journey was well worth the time that I sacrificed to be a part of this tremendous group.
                                                
 

Update: Denise completed the Adult Learner Leadership Institute at the Benicia Library. The six-month leadership training was sponsored by Bay Area Literacy Network and the California State Library. She graduates on June 11th. Congratulations, Denise!

BUDGET CONFERENCE COMMITTEE SAVES LIBRARY PROGRAMS FROM ELIMINATION

Budget Bills Head To The Floors Next Week

March 3, 2011

From: Mike Dillon and Christina DiCaro, CLA Lobbyists

 
This afternoon the powerful 10 member Budget Conference Committee put their final mark on a massive reduction and revenues package, addressing the Governor’s plan to close a whopping $26 billion Budget deficit. One of their final actions was approving a “Conference Compromise” to spare the three library programs – the Public Library Foundation, the California Library Services Act, and the State literacy program, from elimination. You will recall that the Governor’s January Budget recommended complete elimination of $30.4 million for these three programs, which would also jeopardize millions in federal dollars associated with the CLSA. The Assembly Version of the Budget sought to spare the three programs from deep cuts, while the Senate initially agreed to accept the Governor’s proposal to eliminate the programs. And so, when the Conference Committee met this afternoon, they formally approved an action to keep the following dollar amounts in these three programs:
 
 “Conference Compromise”
*  $8.5 million in the California Library Services Act (at this funding level, also allows the State Library to maintain its federal MOE/match),
*  $3.7 million in the California Library Literacy Services program
*  $3 million in the Public Library Foundation
 
Recognizing the incredibly daunting deficit situation, there was an understanding by CLA that keeping the library program budgets whole would be nothing short of impossible, particularly when the Governor was proposing total elimination. Over the last several weeks, CLA leadership, led by President Paymaneh Maghsoudi and the CLA Legislative Committee, led by Deborah Doyle, worked with our office to craft a compromise that would preserve the basic integrity of the programs and give us something to build on when California’s economy recovers. As you can imagine, we worked tirelessly to get this compromise in front of all of the legislative leaders, Budget Conference Committee, the Legislative Analyst’s Office, staff and countless others.  Meanwhile, CLA members and library supporters continued to call and write their legislators, encouraging them to save the three library programs from elimination. This was a constant lobbying effort that ultimately resulted in a bi-partisan vote of the Budget Conference Committee today (a 5-0 vote of the Senate Conferees, and a 5-0 vote of the Assembly Conferees). This is an important footnote in that many of the items being voted on in the Conference Committee have received votes that are split along party-lines. We believe that the strong bipartisan voteon our three items will certainly help to encourage the Governor to leave the $15.2 million in the Budget for these programs.    
 
BUDGET PICTURE IS BLEAK  
PROPOSAL MAKES DEEP CUTS TO ALL PROGRAMS

 For the last two days, the Conference Committee had not met, prompting lobbyists to speculate that a deal between the Governor and the Democrats might be imminent.  This suspicion was confirmed this morning when the Governor’s Executive Secretary for Legislation, Appointments, and Policy told a group of lobbyists at a breakfast we attended and coordinated, “It is my understanding that the Conference Committee hopes to close out their work today.”

 
When the Conference Committee finally convened around 3:30 p.m. today, Chairman Bob Blumenfield noted that the members would “reconcile the remaining items but we won’t close down the Committee officially.” He said, “This proposal today makes the best out of an incredibly bad situation….Today we are backing the Governor’s cuts.  Any claim the cuts aren’t real denies the pain of them.” The Assemblyman identified several programs within Health and Human Services such as adult day health care, child care, and CalWorks, that would be receiving significant and painful reductions. In fact, the proposal adopted today by the Conference Committee will contain:  $12.6 billion in cuts, $1.1 billion in a reserve, and $12 billion in revenues.
 
The Conference Committee continues to deliberate and will likely go into the evening tonight as they address controversial issues of realignment, redevelopment, and tax increases. The intention is for the Assembly and Senate to vote on the Budget bills next week. We will give you information on Monday regarding contacting the Governor to encourage him to leave the $15.2 million in the Budget for library funding.

You may have heard on the news that the governor’s proposed state budget for 2011-2012 eliminates funding for public library and literacy funding. This would have a dramatic impact on libraries in Alameda County and on our literacy program.

The Governor’s Budget proposes a decrease to libraries of $30.4 million in fiscal year 2011-12, resulting in the elimination of General Fund for the following programs: The Public Library Foundation, California Library Literacy and English Acquisition Services, and the California Library Services Act.

What this means to Literacy Students and Programs in California:

Library Literacy programs receive funds through the California Library Literacy and English Acquisition Services Program (CLLS). It enables Californians of all ages to reach their literacy goals and use library services effectively. California has approximately 3.4 million adults with below basic literacy skills. Libraries serve over 20,000 adults annually in over 800 library branches and other outlets statewide. As a result, these adults are voting for the first time, reading newspapers, reading aloud to their children, and securing jobs. Tutoring is nearly always delivered by volunteers, thus further well-utilizing California’s resources.

Public libraries across the State were braced for significant funding cuts. However, the total elimination of ALL State support for local library services is of deep concern. Since the 2000’s, public libraries have been hit hard with deep reductions, which have totaled more than 75% in some programs. The very real fear is that once these services are eliminated they will never be reinstated.

You can express your support for California Libraries by:

1. Calling State Senator Carol Liu by February 1, at (916) 651-4021;
2. Calling Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla by February 7, at (916) 319-2011 or sending her a message on the attached pre-printed postcard;
3. Writing, faxing or calling the key legislators listed below;  
4. Spreading the word about the need to speak up on behalf of California libraries.

Chairs of the Senate and Assembly Budget Committees

The Honorable Carol Liu

Chair, Senate Budget Subcommittee

Number 1 on Education Finance

State Capitol, Room 5061

Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone: (916) 651-4021

Fax: (916) 324-7543

The Honorable Bob Huff

Member, Senate Budget Subcommittee

Number 1 on Education Finance

State Capitol, Room 5097

Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone: (916) 651-4029

Fax: (916) 324-0922

The Honorable Roderick Wright

Member, Senate Budget Subcommittee

Number 1 on Education Finance

State Capitol, Room 5064

Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone: (916) 651-4025

Fax: (916) 445-3712

The Honorable Susan Bonilla

Chair, Assembly Budget Subcommittee

Number 2 on Education Finance

State Capitol, Room 2188

Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone: (916) 319-2011

Fax: (916) 319-2111

The Honorable Bill Berryhill

Assembly Budget Subcommittee

Number 2 on Education Finance

State Capitol, Room 3141

Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone: (916) 319-2026

Fax: (916) 319-2126

The Honorable Julia Brownley

Assembly Budget Subcommittee

Number 2 on Education Finance

State Capitol, Room 2163

Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone: (916) 319-2041

Fax: (916) 319-2141

The Honorable Brian Nestande

Assembly Budget Subcommittee

Number 2 on Education Finance

State Capitol, Room 4139

Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone: (916) 319-2064

Fax: (916) 319-2164

The Honorable Sandre Swanson

Assembly Budget Subcommittee

Number 2 on Education Finance

State Capitol, Room 6012

Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone: (916)319-2016

Fax: (916) 319-2116

You Can Help Save California Public Library & Literacy Funding!

For more information, the latest updates and actions needed, please visit: http://www.cla-net.org/

or on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/saveCAlibs

Alameda County Library

Write to Read

2450 Stevenson Blvd.

Fremont, CA  94538-2326

Phone–510-745-1480

News From The Capitol
January 10, 2011

GOVERNOR RELEASES 2011-12 BUDGET – LIBRARY FUNDING DECIMATED
Proposal Would Eliminate All State Funding for PLF, TBR and Literacy
By: Mike Dillon & Christina DiCaro, CLA Lobbyists

This morning newly elected Governor, Jerry Brown, released his 2011-12 Budget proposal, calling it “painful” and one that “requires sacrifice from every sector of the state, but we have no choice.” The plan recommends a whopping $12.5 billion in cuts and $12 billion in revenue options in order to address the staggering $25 billion Budget, as well as a “vast and historic restructuring of services,” as part of the Governor’s realignment proposal.

Of the cuts revealed- by Governor Brown today is a proposal to completely eliminate all state funding for the Public Library Foundation, Transaction Based Reimbursement and the California Library Literacy and English Acquisition Service. This amount totals $30.4 million. ($12.9 million cut to the PLF, $12.9 million cut to the $12.9 TBR and a $4.6 million cut to the literacy program). Specifically, the Governor’s Budget reads as follows:

“The Governor’s Budget proposes to decrease General Fund assistance for local libraries by $30.4 million in FY 2011-12, resulting in the elimination of General Fund for the following programs: Public Library Foundation, California Library Literacy and English Acquisition Services, and the California Library Services Act. With the exception of some limited local assistance for library development and civil liberties programs, the ability of the state to provide General Fund local assistance to the California State Library is hampered by the economic conditions of the state. Despite these reductions, the California State Library will continue to preserve California’s history and cultural heritage, and will continue to share its collection of historic documents with the citizens of California.”

You will recall from our recent alert to the field that the legislature and the lobbying corps were preparing for a “shock and awe” Budget, with the Governor pledging that no industry or program area would be spared from deep cuts. In fact, the Budget axe falls dramatically on Medi-Cal ($1.7 billion cut), CalWORKs ($1.5 billion), Department of Developmental Services ($750 million), and a $500 million cut to the California State University and $500 million cut to the University of California. The proposal also would require a 10 percent reduction “in take-home pay for state employees not currently covered under collective bargaining agreements.” Of note, the Governor expects the legislature to act on these proposed cuts – including the library related cuts – in the next few months.

As we referenced in our last alert, the Governor’s plan also centers around a large-scale realignment of state and local government services, with the first phase of the realignment to be funded from revenue from a combination of the sales tax and vehicle license fee tax extensions. The revenue extensions/solutions referenced above would need to be agreed to by the legislature no later than March so that the sweeping proposal could be placed to the voters for consideration on the June 2011 ballot.

As best we understand the Governor’s plan, the $30 million cut to the library programs would not be backfilled with the Governor’s ballot revenue proposal. Instead, those revenues would be used to prevent additional cuts to K-12 education funding and other programs, and to begin the phase-in of the Governor’s realignment proposal. The first phase of realignment focuses on public safety services, the second phase focuses on the implementation of the federal health care initiative, and under the Governor’s plan, redevelopment agencies and enterprise zones would also be eliminated.

Phase two of the plan recommends a “constitutional amendment to provide for 55% voter approval for limited tax increases and bonding against local revenues for development projects similar to those currently funded through redevelopment and for infrastructure.” In response to reporters’ questions about what happens if the voters refuse to allow extension of the current taxes for an additional 5 years, the Governor responded that there would have to be further significant cuts to “schools, prisons, and the universities.”

The CLA Legislative and Advocacy Committee will be meeting next Friday to discuss messaging and strategic responses to address the Governor’s Budget released today, and soon we will be providing you with additional contact information and talking points. In the meantime, please take a moment to contact your Assembly member and Senator and express your concerns over these devastating cuts to the Public Library Foundation, Transaction Based Reimbursement and Literacy programs. Urge them to reject these cuts when the issue is before them in the coming weeks.

Learn more about voting and this election at:

www.easyvoter.org

www.sos.ca.gov

www.smartvoter.org

Important dates:

October 18, 2010 - Last day to register to vote

October 26, 2010 – Last Day for your county elections office to receive your written request for the “vote by mail” ballot

November 2, 2010 – ELECTION DAY – Polls open 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.

The nonpartisan Easy Voter Guide is produced by the Easy Voter Guide Project in collaboration with the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund and the California State Library.

Tutors are also required to attend a tutor roundtable and a series of in-service workshops to expand their tutoring knowledge and share their experiences with other tutors. The minimum commitment is for 6 months of tutoring and 10 hours of training. Tutors must be 18 years or older.

If you are interested in tutoring, please complete a tutor application and return. or contact us directly. You can make a difference. Become a volunteer tutor.

Write to Read Adult Literacy Program (510) 745-1480

Call Rachel at (510) 745-1480