California Stands to Benefit From Clinton Proposals

Educators would get more federal help to start charter schools. Immigrants trying to cross the border illegally would face tighter surveillance. And efforts to conserve Pacific salmon river habitat would get a major boost.

Those are just a few of the nuggets culled from the budget President Clinton released Monday that could affect California.

Of course, the full impact of the proposed spending plan on the nation’s most populous state will not be known for some time. The Republican-led Congress has yet to weigh in. And complex calculations have yet to be completed on how the state will fare in various federal programs.

But the snap analysis from California-watchers Monday was that the state would get a fair share of goodies under the Clinton plan and--perhaps as important--would not backslide in any major way.

“Nothing in our field was cut and a few things were increased,” said Jim Seeley, lobbyist for the city of Los Angeles. “It’s a fully funded domestic budget as far as we’re concerned--good news.”

Fiscal Document, Political Divisions

Although the spending plan is a fiscal document, it is also a political manifesto from an impeached president. GOP members of the California congressional delegation seemed of two minds about the president’s budget.

Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas) acknowledged that Republicans are just as eager as their Democratic counterparts to spend the maximum number of federal dollars on state projects.

So that meant few Republicans, if any, would go on record against the $30-million increase that Clinton proposed to spawn more of the independently run, publicly funded, charter schools--some of which would undoubtedly be created in California. Or the proposed new $100-million recovery fund for Pacific coastal salmon in California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. Or the proposed $50 million to beef up infrared cameras and other monitoring technology along the border with Mexico and other proposals to add 18 miles of border lighting and fencing.

On the other hand, Republicans were eager to press the prime item on their legislative agenda--tax cuts.

“Without immediate across-the-board tax relief, the president’s budget is little more than a blueprint for taking money away from families,” said Rep. Ron Packard (R-Oceanside).

Democratic lawmakers argued that Clinton’s budget would score points with elderly Californians who are anxious to preserve Social Security benefits and families who want investment in education and protection for the environment.

“I’m not getting calls--and I don’t know anybody who is--in which the first thing on [callers’] minds is, ‘Give me a tax cut.’ None. Zip,” said Rep. Sam Farr (D-Carmel), chairman of the state’s House delegation. “People are all telling me: ‘Fix our problems.’ ”

In months ahead, California lobbyists and public officials will be jockeying fiercely for more federal aid. Case in point: mass transit.

While the proposed budget includes $50 million for Los Angeles subway construction--money to continue construction of a Metro Rail extension from Hollywood to the San Fernando Valley--Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Marc Littman said that the agency will be seeking an additional $38 million just to make up for reductions in federal funding from previous years.

Mass Transit Programs Funded

Other California transit projects funded in the administration’s budget--all needing more money in future years:

* A 5.8-mile extension of San Diego’s light-rail line through Mission Valley, $35 million.

* A 6.3-mile extension of Sacramento’s light-rail line into south Sacramento, $25 million.

* An 8.2-mile extension of the Bay Area commuter rail line to San Francisco International Airport, $84 million.

* An extension of the Tasman light-rail line around San Jose, $32 million.

Other California-connected items in the Clinton budget plan, according to analysts and congressional aides:

* $500 million to subsidize costs of jailing illegal immigrants who commit crimes, a substantial portion of whom are in California. That is less than some lawmakers want.

* $38 million to help speed the completion of the Los Angeles County Drainage Authority project, aimed at eliminating the area’s flood insurance requirements.

* $9.8 million to expand the Port of Los Angeles.

* $5 million to buy land for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

With its large base of universities and high-tech manufacturers, California also stands to capture a large chunk of the $38 billion that Clinton proposed in a “21st Century” fund for research and development, up 3% from the current budget.

Times staff writer Richard Simon contributed to this story.