Assembly Debates Abortion, OKs Budget

The Assembly voted for a $40.9-billion version of the proposed state budget Monday after yet another bruising fight over abortion.

The lower house sent its budget to the Senate on a 60-13 vote. Then, in a quick procedural vote, the Assembly amended a rival version of the budget that was sent to it by the Senate last week and returned it to the upper house.

As it stood Monday, the Assembly-approved budget is within $100 million of the 1987-88 spending plan proposed by Gov. George Deukmejian.

But it anticipates spending about $1 billion less than the Senate does to provide state services for the 1987-88 fiscal year that begins July 1.

Committee Action

The differences will be resolved by a six-member, two-house conference committee scheduled to begin work Wednesday.

With lawmakers from both parties anticipating days, and perhaps weeks, of further budget negotiations by the conference committee, the battle Monday centered on a non-fiscal issue: an amendment to require public school students to get the consent of a parent or guardian before getting abortion counseling or related medical services.

The provision was introduced by Assemblyman Phillip D. Wyman (R-Tehachapi), who along with other supporters decided to try to amend the budget because of their inability to move parental consent legislation through normal legislative channels.

Wyman’s amendment would have prohibited any public school student from being absent from class for abortion services unless the student had the consent of a parent or guardian.

Sign Slips

He remarked that it is ironic that parents are required to sign slips before their children can take field trips but often are not told that their youngsters are receiving abortion counseling or taking time off to go to an “abortion clinic.”

In voting that broke along party lines, Democrats successfully blocked the amendment by voting to table the provision on a 34-31 roll call.

However, several Democrats later joined with Republicans and moved to reopen the debate. After a series of closed-door meetings by both parties, the effort failed on a 36-36 tie vote.

Assemblyman Gary A. Condit (D-Ceres), one of the rebellious Democrats, said he was not on the floor when the first vote on the Wyman amendment was taken and wanted a chance to argue in favor of the amendment.

“Parents ought to have knowledge if their children are getting abortions,” he said.

Issue Settled

Once the abortion issue was settled--at least temporarily--the Assembly version of the budget passed with relatively little debate.

Assemblyman John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara), chairman of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, said a major issue that will have to be resolved is what the state will do with a $700-million budget surplus that Deukmejian insists must rebated to taxpayers.

The Senate version of the budget takes the money and spends it on welfare and education programs.

The Assembly-approved budget is silent on the issue.