Republican Legislators Unveil Rival Welfare Proposal

Republican legislators, in open disagreement with Democrats, proposed a $5.7-billion welfare plan Wednesday that would empower each county to design its own programs, including the amounts and distribution of aid.

In a letter to Gov. Pete Wilson, Republican leaders said they were offering the proposal as an alternative to earlier plans put forth by the governor and the Democrats because they believe individual county governments are in a better position to tailor programs to local needs.

“This can be done by calling on the leadership and ingenuity of California counties and unleashing them to create the reforms, customize the systems and personalize the services,” the letter said, “so that the people in each county will receive the kind of assistance they need in moving from welfare to work.”

Under the proposal, funds from a $3.4-billion federal grant plus $2.3 billion in state money would be funneled directly to each county based on a yet-to-be-determined formula. The counties would set their own aid levels, eligibility criteria for aid and work requirements for those receiving assistance.

The proposal, signed by the six Republicans who are members of a joint Senate and Assembly committee charged with shaping welfare reform, came as the committee neared completion of its work on a massive welfare plan. It highlighted the wide philosophical differences between the two parties over welfare reform and signaled that the Legislature’s Republicans, even though they do not have enough votes to pass their plan, intend to battle Democrats not only on major issues but on their entire approach to welfare.

“There is a philosophical difference between the two parties,” said Sen. Jim Brulte (R-Rancho Cucamonga), who distributed the letter. “They believe in the top-down management mentality and we would like to empower the local governments to be as creative as they can be.”

Brulte said he expected the plan would have the backing of all the GOP’s legislators.

Democrats said they were stunned by the Republican announcement, especially because several signers of the letter had voted for many of the welfare proposals adopted by the joint committee.

“This [Republican plan] is not a proposal that anybody wants,” said Sen. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena). “It’s not what the counties want. It’s not what the governor originally proposed, and it’s contrary to all the bipartisan work that we have done on this super committee. We’ve made considerable progress and now to turn that on its ear, I don’t quite understand the thinking.”

Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward) said that although Democrats also believed counties should have broad authority over their own welfare programs, there are certain rules that need to be uniform statewide.

“The basic size of the grant, the duration of the grant, medical care issues, all these things ought to be standard,” he said. “If they aren’t then you wind up having a magnet effect, people moving into counties that have higher aid levels than other counties.”

A spokesman for Wilson, who, like the Democrats, had proposed standard aid levels and eligibility criteria, called the Republican plan “the most interesting proposal we have seen to date” but stopped short of endorsing it.

“The governor has stated repeatedly that it is his intention to allow the counties the maximum amount of flexibility,” said press secretary Sean Walsh. “What works in Los Angeles might not work in Riverside County and what works in Riverside might not work in Shasta County.”

But a lobbyist for the California State Assn. of Counties, which has proposed a welfare plan that is similar to that being fashioned by the joint committee, agreed with Lockyer that it was “absolutely vital” that there be standard aid levels and eligibility rules for welfare recipients.

“What is not acceptable is to design a system that invites migration from one county to the next,” said Margaret Pena, “and opens us up to potential constitutional challenges.”

Brulte said the Democrats were proposing too many new rules for welfare and were attempting to micro manage the system.

The conference committee so far has adopted a wide range of proposals including those that would allow the state to assume some of the cost of General Assistance, a county-financed aid program, and provide state assistance for elderly legal immigrants who will be cut off from federal benefits.

Before it finishes work, the committee is also expected to approve the creation of government-subsidized jobs that would enable welfare recipients who can’t find employment in the private sector to meet work requirements.

Wilson did not include any of these proposals in his plan, which called both for strict time limits and work requirements to be placed on welfare recipients.