A roundup of candidates’ answers to fiscal and societal questions

The Times posed a set of questions about several of the issues in the recall race to Gov. Gray Davis and the major candidates seeking to replace him. Excerpts from their responses follow.

Fiscal Issues

Q. Do you favor or oppose repealing the car tax increase that went into effect this year? If you favor repeal, please specify what programs you would cut or taxes you would increase to offset the approximately $4 billion in revenue the increase is expected to generate.

Gov. Gray Davis (D)

I favored increasing taxes on upper-income earners and on cigarettes. I would support reducing the vehicle license fee so long as it does not come at the expense of local police and fire departments, which are the primary beneficiaries of the fee. I believe the Legislature’s proposal to swap the car tax increase with taxes on upper-income earners and cigarettes makes sense.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D)

I propose that we exempt the first $20,000 of every automobile’s value from the increase in the car tax. This will return $2 billion to the taxpayers. I propose the revenue loss can be made up by increases in tobacco and alcohol taxes.

State Sen. Tom McClintock (R)

My first act as governor will be to rescind Gray Davis’ tripling of the car tax. I would offset the general fund backfill expenditures with $2.5 billion in savings to state and local government that will accrue from my workers’ comp reform and aggressive enforcement to stop Medi-Cal fraud that will save approximately $2 billion annually.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

I will repeal the car tax increase immediately upon taking office. The car tax hurts working Californians. The tax is harsh and regressive. I will replace these revenues and eliminate the operating deficit by reducing wasteful spending and bringing jobs back to California.

Q. Would you propose or sign into law any increase in taxes or fees as part of an effort to balance the state budget? If so, which ones and how much? If you would rule out tax or fee increases, where, specifically, would you cut spending?

Gov. Gray Davis (D)

The budget I proposed in January of this year included a balanced combination of spending reductions and revenue increases. I would not support an increase in homeowners’ property taxes.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D)

I propose that we increase a variety of taxes including tobacco and alcohol, close corporate tax loopholes, and reassess commercial property with the same frequency that we reassess homeowner property.

State Sen. Tom McClintock (R)

I will not raise any taxes or fees, PERIOD. I would immediately begin implementing reforms suggested by the Reason Foundation and the Performance Institute to eliminate duplication among departments, introduce competitive bidding for state services and institute performance-based budgeting -- reforms that can save an estimated $15 billion while providing improved service delivery.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

I am firmly opposed to raising taxes. California has one of the highest tax burdens in the nation, and just about everything a Californian does today is subject to one tax or another. The problem is overspending, and the operating deficit must be closed by getting spending under control.

Q. Should the state Constitution be amended to eliminate the required two-thirds vote to pass a budget or raise taxes?

Gov. Gray Davis (D)

During this year’s budget process, we saw the minority party -- Republicans -- hold the budget process hostage. I understand that frustration with that behavior has prompted Californians to circulate an initiative that would eliminate the two-thirds requirement. It will be up to the people of California to decide.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D)

I believe that the voters were right to change the voting requirement for school bonds to 55%. We should apply that sensible standard to all revenue questions.

State Sen. Tom McClintock (R)

The two-thirds requirement to raise taxes is a vital protection for the taxpayers against the tax-and-spend crowd here in Sacramento and must be vigorously defended, as I have for 20 years.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

I support a two-thirds vote in the Legislature to pass a state budget. The problem isn’t the California Constitution; the problem is the partisanship and lack of leadership in Sacramento. I will provide leadership to pass state budgets on time.

Q. The state faces a projected $8-billion shortfall in next year’s budget. What programs would you target for reductions? Would you provide any money for K-12 education beyond the minimum required by Proposition 98? Would you cut prison spending? Would you cut back on health-care programs? Would you cut the size of the state work force? Would you support reductions in salaries and benefits for state employees?

Gov. Gray Davis (D)

The solution to the $8-billion shortfall must be structural in nature. I am commissioning a group of distinguished Californians to provide financial guidelines to the Legislature and to me this fall. I believe the ultimate solution should include spending reductions, structural reform and, if necessary, responsible revenue increases. With next year’s budget, I will continue to fight for the values Californians share.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D)

My proposals [call] for $7.2 billion in new revenues, reductions in the car tax, along with cuts and savings of $4.5 billion. I believe that there is another $500 million in Medi-Cal fraud that must be attacked. Senate Bill 2 has the potential to move 5 million working Californians off of taxpayer-subsidized health programs and on to private insurance. The California Medical Assn. estimates this will save state and local taxpayers $2 billion.

State Sen. Tom McClintock (R)

The shortfall will be substantially larger than $8 billion. It is not a matter merely of reducing expenditures; we must fundamentally change the way we spend that money. For example, California spends over $9,000 per pupil, but only a fraction of that money gets to the classroom. Prison costs in California are out of control and can be substantially reduced by competitive wages within the state system and contracting out services for low- and medium-security inmates. We can provide far better health-care coverage at far lower cost by using a prepaid, refundable tax credit to bring within the financial reach of every Californian a basic health plan of their choice.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

I support Proposition 98 and I will protect our investment in schools, but I will seek changes to ensure more money is spent in the classroom instead of being wasted on bureaucracy.We do need to find ways to reduce the number of uninsured Californians. We need to get rid of costly mandates that make health insurance costs prohibitive. Government may be part of the solution in the future, but with our current financial situation, now is not the time to impose a costly new mandate on business. Businesses are already faced with choosing between paying workers’ comp premiums and shutting their doors. We simply can’t afford to add another tax, another mandate on business, not until we get California working again.

Societal Issues

Q. Do you favor or oppose Proposition 54, which would bar the state from gathering data on racial classifications?

Gov. Gray Davis (D)

I oppose Proposition 54. Prop. 54 will eliminate important data on student achievement and jeopardize our ability to collect data on diseases that we need to protect the public health.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D)

I strongly oppose Proposition 54. This measure will stop health officials from collecting the information they need to fight heart disease, diabetes and other serious illnesses. Prop. 54 is an attack on our health care system and must be stopped.

State Sen. Tom McClintock (R)

I wholeheartedly support Proposition 54. I do not believe that race should determine how people are treated by their government.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

I oppose Proposition 54. If passed as proposed, it would endanger our ability to gather important information about health care and our schools.

Q. The governor recently signed a bill that will allow certain illegal immigrants living in California to have driver’s licenses. As governor, would you sign or veto such legislation?

Gov. Gray Davis (D)

By providing training, testing and licensing to all California drivers, this bill will make our roadways safer.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D)

Sign it. I believe that immigrants who work, pay taxes, and obey the law ought to be able to apply for driver’s licenses.

State Sen. Tom McClintock (R)

Veto it. I have led opposition to this measure in the Senate. This bill would place valid state identification documents in the hands of illegal immigrants in order to undermine enforcement of our immigration laws.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

I oppose providing driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants as provided by Senate Bill 60. This bill does not provide for a system of background checks and creates national security concerns. I oppose second-class identification for undocumented immigrants but support a properly regulated temporary worker visa program.

Q. Do you favor additional restrictions on abortion in California? If so, what restrictions would you support? Would you support legislation to require female minors to notify one or both parents before having an abortion? What is your personal position on whether Medi-Cal should continue to pay for abortions?

Gov. Gray Davis (D)

I do not favor any additional restrictions on a woman’s right to choose. I trust the young women of California and their doctors to make the right decision in these matters. I support Medi-Cal funding for reproductive health care.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D)

I support a woman’s right to make her own decisions regarding her health and her body--regardless of age, income, race or ethnicity. I do not favor additional restrictions on abortion. I believe poor women should have the same reproductive rights as all other women. Medi-Cal should continue to pay for abortions.

State Sen. Tom McClintock (R)

I am opposed to “partial birth” abortion, wherein the infant is killed during the delivery process; I support parental notification for abortions involving minors, and I do not believe that government funds should support the practice.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

I’m for choice. The women should have the choice.

Q. California has enacted several gun control measures, including laws to ban guns labeled as assault weapons, new restrictions on inexpensive handguns, a one-gun-per-month limit on purchases and a measure allowing consumers to sue gun makers for negligent sale of weapons. Do you favor or oppose those measures? What additional measures would you support, if any?

Gov. Gray Davis (D)

I am proud to have signed legislation giving California the toughest gun safety laws in the nation.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D)

I favor these measures and would support new gun control laws that keep guns out of the hands of criminals, away from our children and out of our neighborhoods.

State Sen. Tom McClintock (R)

I oppose these measures. I believe that citizens have an inherent right to self defense that is protected under the 2nd Amendment.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

I am a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment. I also believe that there are responsibilities that gun owners must follow in owning a firearm. I support the Brady Bill, I support the current assault weapons ban and I believe that guns must have safety devices or be stored as to prevent accidental discharge.

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Candidates’ views on education and the environment

Educational Issues

Q. California’s spending per student in K-12 schools is now about the national average. Is that level appropriate? Should California’s spending be higher than average?

Gov. Gray Davis (D)

We should fund education at a level that is needed to do the job right for all students. Improving our schools is not just a matter of increasing funding. My administration has targeted resources toward meeting goals, like reducing class sizes, ensuring a quality curriculum and recruiting and retaining well-qualified teachers.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D)

Increasing school spending to above the national average should be the goal of anyone wanting to lead this state.

State Sen. Tom McClintock (R)

Taxpayers put $9,072 behind every student in the K-12 schools last year -- more than $270,000 per classroom. The problem is not lack of money; the problem is that it isn’t getting to the classroom.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

Our great challenge is that we rank near the bottom in student achievement, not that we are at the national average in spending per pupil. We need to streamline expensive and administratively convoluted categorical programs and maximize the use of existing education dollars.

Q. Do you think the state’s academic testing program is helping to improve student performance? Is the state requiring too many standardized tests? Too few? Would you propose other changes?

Gov. Gray Davis (D)

Absolutely. By shedding light on strengths and weaknesses in student achievement, testing enables schools to focus on areas needing improvement. Test scores have improved five years in a row, even as our tests have gotten tougher, because they are now fully aligned to California’s rigorous academic standards.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D)

Teachers are spending too much time giving too many tests. In many instances, these tests do not provide true measures of either a teacher’s effectiveness or the child’s ability to learn. While I believe it is important to test our children, the frequency detracts from a teacher’s true responsibility.

State Sen. Tom McClintock (R)

Academic testing sets basic standards and holds educators accountable for meeting those standards. I would insist that the state’s testing program be maintained and educators held accountable.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

Tests that are aligned with academic content standards are an essential tool for teachers, parents, administrators and state policymakers. They will help to raise student achievement across the board. There is no point having standards unless we test to determine if all students are meeting them.

Q. Ten years after allowing the first charter schools, California has the second-largest number of such schools in the country. But the state has a cap on the number of new charters. Do you support lifting the cap?

Gov. Gray Davis (D)

I am a strong supporter of charter schools and believe they provide important options for students. I am not as concerned about regulation as I am about accountability for student performance. I signed a law increasing the cap on new charters by 100 schools each year. We are nowhere near reaching the cap, so it seems premature to discuss lifting it.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D)

We need to be very careful about the expansion of the number of charter schools and thoroughly evaluate the success or failures of the current charter schools. All charter schools should be held to the same accountability standards as non-charter schools.

State Sen. Tom McClintock (R)

Charter schools are the one bright spot in the public school system, precisely because they have greater freedom to manage their affairs. There should be no cap on charters, and they should be given the widest possible latitude within broad, basic standards.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

I support lifting the cap on charter schools, cutting the burdensome regulations recently imposed on charter schools and working to make sure charter schools are not shortchanged. I want to see more charter schools in California, more families to have access to schools that are helping students achieve.

Q. The UC and CSU systems over the last year have approved fee increases of more than 40%. Community colleges have approved increases of 64%, from $11 to $18 a unit. Do you support repealing any of these increases?

Gov. Gray Davis (D)

Expanding access to college for California’s students, regardless of their financial situation, is one of my top priorities. In my first term, we held the line on fee increases of any kind. When the economy recovers, I may take additional steps to improve access.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D)

As a UC regent and CSU trustee, I opposed the 40% fee increases. These fee hikes lack vision and are an attack on middle class families. In tough economic times, college should be less expensive, not more expensive.

State Sen. Tom McClintock (R)

I will oppose all student fee increases and demand that the fat and waste be eliminated from the bloated bureaucracies so that our children can again receive the finest higher education in the world.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

I regret these fees had to rise so dramatically because of mismanagement in Sacramento. We need a reliable and stable student-fee policy so young Californians and their families can plan and budget.

Q. Do you believe the state universities and community colleges need to do more to promote ethnic diversity among students and faculty? If so, how, given the state’s ban on affirmative action in public institutions?

Gov. Gray Davis (D)

I opposed Proposition 209. As governor, I put into place an initiative called the Four-Percent Admissions Program. This program ensures admission at a UC school for the top 4% of students from every high school in California. It has helped increase freshman admissions among African American students by 30% and Latino students by 37%.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D)

We should continue to promote diversity in our state’s higher education system, both in student population and faculty hiring. These efforts, while complying with the will of the voters and Proposition 209, should focus on outreach efforts to all communities in California.

State Sen. Tom McClintock (R)

We need to focus on providing disadvantaged students -- no matter what their race -- the proper education that they need in our K-12 schools with the resources and focus that they need to succeed and enter college.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

I am convinced that we don’t need quotas to achieve diversity. Instead, I believe we need to provide more opportunities for lower income students and recent immigrants to be able to afford higher education.

Environmental Issues

Q. California law will require automobiles sold in the state to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, a gas linked to global warming. The auto industry and the Bush administration say that issue should be left to the federal government. Who is right?

Gov. Gray Davis (D)

I will fight any attempt to undermine California’s efforts at protecting its air and its environment. I am proud to have signed the [Assemblywoman Fran] Pavley bill limiting carbon pollution from California vehicles.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D)

I absolutely believe that, as a state, we have the right to be proactive on clean air issues. California’s air standards predate the federal Clean Air Act. It has long been accepted that California can set our own air standards, and that other states can choose California’s tougher rules over federal regulations.

State Sen. Tom McClintock (R)

Neither. If we completely shut down every motor vehicle in California and went back to horses and buggies, we would only have reduced carbon dioxide emissions by one-tenth of 1%.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

California’s landmark legislation to cut greenhouse gases is now law, and I will work to implement it and to win the expected challenges in court along the way.

Q. Should the state limit the harvesting of old-growth trees and other timber on private land to prevent damage to the forests that can harm endangered birds and salmon swimming upstream?

Gov. Gray Davis (D)

Yes. The state must act to protect its rapidly dwindling natural resources and ensure that irreparable harm is not done to what little old-growth forest remains.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D)

We should subject the harvesting of old-growth trees on private land to the environmental review process to ensure the protection of soils, water quality and habitat. In doing so, we must consider the need for both sustainable timber employment and for a healthy forest.

State Sen. Tom McClintock (R)

No. Trees on private property belong to the property owner.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

More acres of California forests were clear-cut under the first four years of the Davis administration than the prior eight years under Gov. [Pete] Wilson. California’s Forest Practices Act already has the tools to protect our watersheds, wildlife and water supplies, but it must be appropriately enforced.

Q. Do you favor or oppose more oil drilling off the California coast? Should the state keep the authority to prevent more drilling in federal waters if it is environmentally hazardous?

Gov. Gray Davis (D)

I adamantly oppose additional drilling off of California’s coast. Our coast and coastal resources are too precious to risk. That’s why I sued the federal government when it extended 36 offshore gas and oil leases.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D)

I believe that California’s Coastal Commission should maintain its authority to prevent drilling in federal waters if it is environmentally hazardous and, of course, the courts have agreed.

State Sen. Tom McClintock (R)

If the Arctic tundra was opened to drilling, there would be no need to drill off California; and if it isn’t opened to drilling, there is no excuse to drill off California.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

I will protect California’s coastline by fighting for a ban on all oil drilling in coastal waters and I will urge the federal government to purchase the remaining offshore oil leases as it has in Florida. I will always protect our state’s right to protect California’s environment.

Q. The Bush administration has eased regulations on building roads in wilderness areas, harvesting more trees in Sierra Nevada forests and providing wilderness access for off-road vehicles. Do you support or oppose the administration’s moves?

Gov. Gray Davis (D)

I strongly oppose the Bush administration’s increases in vehicular access and logging in wilderness areas, which would quickly cause irreparable harm to the few pristine lands we have left. Our wilderness belongs to all Californians.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D)

The Bush administration has traded good science for crass politics in their easing of regulations on building roads in wilderness areas, harvesting old-growth forests in the Sierra Nevada and providing off-road vehicles access to pristine wilderness.

State Sen. Tom McClintock (R)

Support. Public lands should be open to the public.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

More than a decade of hard work by a broad variety of stakeholders resulted in the Sierra Nevada Framework, which has been widely hailed as a model of forest ecosystem resource protection. As governor, I will direct all relevant agencies to comply fully with the framework and call on the federal government to abide by the policies.

Q. Do you think the California Coastal Commission’s current regulations on coastal development and public access to the beach are too burdensome on property owners or too weak for the public?

Gov. Gray Davis (D)

Our beaches are a precious public resource, and all Californians should be able to freely enjoy them. Increasing public access has been a hallmark of my administration.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D)

If anything, I believe the California Coastal Commission should be strengthened to ensure coastal preservation and increase public access to the beaches. The protection of our coast is essential to our economy and way of life.

State Sen. Tom McClintock (R)

If the Coastal Commission wishes to provide access through private property, it should purchase that property at an agreeable price.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

California’s coast is recognized worldwide as one of our most precious resources, and it must be protected. The California Coastal Commission should not be subject to political interference in commission decisions that has characterized the Davis administration.

Los Angeles Times