Deukmejian Rejects Extension of Quake Levy

Gov. George Deukmejian made it emphatically clear Friday that his willingness to compromise on the budget does not extend to a suggestion by Assembly Speaker Willie Brown that the temporary sales tax increase enacted last November for earthquake relief be kept on the books to head off state spending cuts.

The Republican governor said “it would be a very big mistake for the Legislature to support that. I think it would further impair their credibility.”

In other remarks during a luncheon speech to the Sacramento Press Club, Deukmejian declared that:

Movement toward a compromise on a $24-million cutback in family planning funds is jeopardized by a legal fight that he said now centers on the separation of powers between the judicial, legislative and executive branches of government. “I’m not going to be taking a position on any particular piece of legislation pending the outcome of that litigation,” the governor vowed.

Six Southern California counties will get more than half of new federal anti-drug enforcement money going to local law enforcement agencies because they are “areas where the problem is the most severe.”

His proposal to require mandatory earthquake insurance would not apply to all property owners in quake-sensitive areas, only to those in older homes and buildings not built to modern standards.

Deukmejian’s comments on the temporary sales tax increase come on the heels of the Assembly Speaker’s suggestion Thursday that he might consider extending the 13-month, quarter-cent levy, now scheduled to end Dec. 31 after it raises $785 million for earthquake programs.

“(The initial tax increase) was proposed and it was voted upon and it was enacted on the basis that it was for 13 months and to be used for help with the rebuilding after the earthquake,” Deukmejian said. “I think it ought to be kept to that and the promise ought to be kept to the people.”

The governor added, “I don’t think that he (Brown) is going to get any support for a major tax increase bill, especially this year, in an election year.”

And in the latest twist in the fight over family planning funds, Deukmejian said the dispute has been broadened to a legal fight over the constitutional powers of the governor.

“It goes to the issue of the governor’s authority on the line-item veto and it also goes to the issue of whether or not a trial court can order state government to spend more money than has actually been appropriated for a particular program,” he said.

Deukmejian said he will refuse to discuss proposals to restore the $24 million in funds he vetoed from the budget last July because of a suit filed by health providers and legal advocates for the poor. Deukmejian’s new budget contains just $12.8 million for family planning programs, nearly two-thirds less than the $36 million they were targeted for last year.

The family planning programs provide a variety of medical, counseling and educational services, ranging from pregnancy testing to cancer screening and dispensing of birth control information. The program got caught up in the fight over abortion. Deukmejian also insists that family planning funds now are used to provide a variety of medical services that he argues go well beyond their original mission.

Responding to a reporter’s question, Deukmejian said once again that “the $12 million that is in the budget is certainly adequate to provide the true family planning-type services.”

The governor used the Press Club forum to announce that the bulk of new federal grants for drug enforcement programs will go to Southern California counties.

“We intend to focus our drug enforcement resources in the areas where the problem is the worst--and where we can get the most bang for our bucks,” he said.

In all, the state will get $39.7 million in new federal drug money. Of that, $25.5 million will be spread among local governments. Los Angeles County would receive $7 million; San Diego County, $2.4 million; Orange County, $1.2 million; San Bernardino County, $738,000; Riverside County, $575,000, and Imperial County, $397,000.

Deukmejian said his plan for mandatory quake insurance would apply to all buildings that “are not up to earthquake standards.” Newer homes and commercial buildings, he said, have shown they can withstand a quake. The governor said the proposal will be fleshed out after talks with insurance industry officials, members of the Legislature and other interested parties.