General News

Healthy African American Families Phase II

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General News

New Law

New “Smoke-Free Cars with Minors” Law Protects California’s Children from Secondhand Smoke in Cars.

California motorists will risk fines of up to $100 if they smoke in cars carrying children starting next year.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill that will make it an infraction to smoke in a vehicle if someone under age 18 is present. But the traffic stop would have to be made for another offense, such as speeding or an illegal turn, before the driver could be cited for smoking.

The ban, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2008 is the latest in a string of smoking prohibitions adopted in California. They include a ban on smoking in enclosed workplaces and within 25 feet of a playground.

Oropeza said the new law will protect children against secondhand smoke. A Harvard School of Public Health report issued last year said secondhand smoke in cars can be up to 10 times more of a health risk than secondhand smoke in a home.

“Protecting the health of our children is among government's highest responsibilities,” Oropeza said in a statement. “It is clear that increasing public awareness about the dangers of secondhand smoke is the right thing to do.”

While he signed the smoking ban, Schwarzenegger again turned down another bill designed to protect children. He vetoed a measure by Assemblyman Gene Mullin, D-South San Francisco, that would have required children under age 8 to ride in federally approved car seats unless they are at least 4-feet-9 inches tall.

Current law requires car seats for children who are under age 6 or weigh less than 60 pounds.

Supporters said the Mullin bill was needed because children who are 6 or 7 years old often are still too small to be adequately protected just by wearing seat belts.

But Schwarzenegger said the best approach was to enforce current laws and encourage parents to follow them.

“Rather than repeatedly passing new laws in response to the age, height or weight factors of our children and modifying legal requirements, a better strategy is to move towards full compliance with the laws we already have,” he said in his veto message.

He vetoed a similar measure last year.

Schwarzenegger also signed a bill by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, that prohibits tobacco sellers from giving away or selling for a nominal cost tobacco gift certificates or coupons in public places.

Current law, in an attempt to keep tobacco out of the hands of children, already bans tobacco companies and retailers from giving away tobacco products in public. Lieber said her bill would strengthen that law.

It also takes effect Jan. 1.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20071010-1836-ca-schwarzenegger-bills.html

Action Alert

Governor Signs Budget, Makes More Cuts to Programs

On Friday, October 8th, Governor Schwarzenegger signed a 2010-11 spending plan that rejects the worst cuts to health and human services, then used his line-item veto authority to make close to $1 billion in additional cuts to community clinics, maternal and adolescent health, HIV/AIDS, and the CalWORKs program.

The $86.6 billion spending plan relies heavily on cuts and deferrals in funding to K-12 education, In-Home Supportive Services, and state pay and pension benefits for future state employees. The agreement suspends and delays some tax breaks agreed to in previous years but includes new tax breaks that will cost the state much needed revenues in the future. Additionally, the plan includes a proposed constitutional amendment similar to 2009’s failed Proposition 1A, which would impose restrictions on state spending if approved by California voters in 2012.

The Governor’s vetoes include:

The Black Infant Health Program (BIH) – $3 million in funding for BIH, which provides health education, promotion, social support, and service coordination to pregnant and parenting African American women.
Community clinic programs – $10 million in funding for community clinic programs serving low-income rural, Indian, and migratory workers through the Expanded Access to Primary Care, Rural Health Services Development, Seasonal Agricultural Migratory Worker, and Indian Health programs.
HIV/AIDS – $52 million in funding for HIV/AIDS programs.
CalWORKs – $256 million in funding for CalWORKs, eliminating Stage 3 childcare for approximately 55,000 children from low-income families in California .
Mental health – $133 million from mental health services for special education students.

Check out CPEHN’s new policy brief, “Investing in a Future for All Californians: A Primer on California Budget and Tax Policy,” which provides a general overview of factors fueling California’s budget crisis and poses key questions to help you analyze new proposals.

Propositions on the November Ballot

Election Day is November 2. It's vital to ensure your voice is heard. VOTE!

Not only will you choose the policymakers who will shape health policy for years to come, but there are important ballot initiatives that will impact the health of our communities. You have until October 18 to register to vote. Get more information or register at the Secretary of State’s office.

CPEHN has taken positions on several important propositions:

Proposition

Impact

Position

New Vehicle License Fee to Fund State Parks: would raise the Vehicle License Fee (VLF) by $18 annually to operate, maintain, and repair the state park system. If Prop 21 passes, some state General Funds that currently go to pay for parks may be freed up to pay for other essential programs and services.

No Position*

Dirty Energy: would reverse California 's landmark AB 32, which requires that greenhouse gas emission levels in the state be cut to 1990 levels by 2020. Prop 23 would prevent the greenhouse emissions reductions from going into effect until the state's unemployment rate drops to 5.5% or below for four consecutive quarters, something which has only happened three times since 1980.

Make Corporations Pay Their Fair Share: will reverse tax giveaways agreed to by California lawmakers as part of budget agreements in prior years. Repealing these corporate tax breaks, agreed to because of our failed two-thirds budget system, will help bring in $1.3 billion a year by 2012-13 in additional revenue to fund health care, education and social services.

YES

Majority Vote for an On-Time Budget: changes the legislative vote requirement necessary to pass the state budget from two-thirds to a simple majority. This will make it easier to pass a budget on time and put a stop to efforts to hold the state hostage by pushing through provisions such as tax cuts, unpopular ballot initiatives, or other legislation in exchange for a handful of budget votes each year.

YES

Reduction of Revenues for our State Budget: will let polluters off the hook and make it harder to fund government programs by increasing the legislative vote requirement for increasing fees including so-called “pollution fees” on polluting corporations from a majority to two-thirds.

*On Prop 21: CPEHN is a strong supporter of our parks to promote physical activity and social cohesion, and we want to ensure that they are appropriately funded. However, we are concerned about continuing to develop restricted funding streams for specific programs as a solution to our state budget problem, rather than addressing our broken revenue system. We would also like to see the state develop an equity plan to ensure that low-income communities have equal access to parks.

Let us know if you took action by emailing Marty Martinez at mmartinez@cpehn.org.

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