Assemblywoman Bonilla’s Statement on Governor Brown’s Line-Item Vetoes
As a Legislature, we worked hard and collaboratively to responsibly achieve a balanced budget with $8 billion in cuts while seeking to protect children and students in California. With the Governor’s line-item vetoes, he has essentially launched the Hunger Games in California. From eliminating $10 million in child nutrition funding, to excluding 14,000 children from our communities’ child care centers, and expelling 12,500 of our poorest children from our State Preschool program, Governor Brown has demanded an unacceptable and unreasonable tribute to be paid to the State Reserve account.
From targeted cuts to State Pre-School, Child Nutrition, Childcare, CalWORKs, where 78% of recipients are children, Healthy Families, and Early Childhood Mental Health Initiative programs, this Governor has proven to have a calculated determination to make the poor children of California pay the highest price. Governor Brown has overplayed his hand and misjudged the appetite of Californians to cause suffering to children.
Assemblywoman Susan A. Bonilla (D-Concord) is the Chair of the Assembly Budget Sub-Committee on Education Finance and currently represents Antioch in the State Assembly.
