SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California's new $214 billion budget, passed by the state Senate on Thursday, moves the Golden State closer to universal health coverage.

The plan, which is expected to be signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, puts almost $1.5 billion over three years toward subsidies to lower the premiums for people who buy health insurance through the "CoveredCA" exchange.

Anthony Wright, executive director of the nonprofit Health Access, says the aid is tailored to low-and middle-income people who make between $17,000 and $72,000 a year.

"About a million Californians might get some help to better defray the costs of healthcare,” says Wright. “Of those, about 300,000 get enough help that they may be newly covered from previously being uninsured."

State lawmakers propose to pay for the expansion with a state-level mandate that everyone carry health insurance or pay a fine.

The budget also sets aside $100 million to allow low-income, undocumented immigrants, ages 19 to 25, to sign up for Medi-Cal. Critics of the budget say the extra spending is unwise and complain that it was made possible by a new gas tax of five cents a gallon – a policy they opposed.

Wright notes the budget also restores several important benefits to Medi-Cal – things that were cut during the recession 10 years ago.

"It's a shame that it's taken 10 years of an economic recovery to finally get these key benefits restored, whether they be podiatry, audiology, speech therapy, optical and other key medical services,” says Wright.

The budget also ends the so-called "senior penalty" in Medi-Cal, by changing the income limits to make about 27,000 additional lower-income seniors and people with disabilities eligible for the program.

Arkansas is set to reduce income tax rates for individuals and corporations starting next year.

Opportunity Arkansas is advocating for the elimination of the state income tax altogether.

Nicholas Horton, founder and CEO of the group, said the new top tax rate of 4.4% still penalizes people for earning more money. Horton believes eliminating the state income tax would help Arkansans keep more of their income.

"Reality is, we've been chipping away at the state income tax pretty aggressively," Horton acknowledged. "And we talked about this in the report. What's been happening is, revenue has actually gone up, because people have more money in their pockets to spend at local small businesses, all across the Arkansas economy."

Medicaid is the largest single line item in the state budget, consuming more than one in every four dollars the state spends. Horton said Medicaid spending is key to addressing Arkansas' budget gap. He added the state's income tax generates only about $3 billion a year, while the state spends close to $35 billion.

Horton pointed out in recent years, Arkansas has lowered its income tax rate from nearly 7% to 4.4%. He explained a report from his organization outlines strategies state policymakers can implement to accelerate the state income tax elimination.

"We worked a lot with state policymakers in the Legislature and the executive branch," Horton recounted. "Our objective was to really present a menu of options, and start a more detailed conversation about how we get to zero."

Horton added Texas and Tennessee have eliminated the personal state income tax, and thinks following suit would be "transformative" for Arkansans.


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Alabama Arise, a statewide advocacy group, is fighting for marginalized communities affected by poverty.

The organization recently unveiled its 2024 policy priorities, highlighting the importance of expanding Medicaid and ending the state sales tax on groceries to improve residents' overall well-being.

Robyn Hyden, executive director of the group, believes addressing the issues will create lasting effects on communities and improve communication with legislators.

"Some people feel a sense of powerlessness, a feeling that our political systems are not set up to listen to us or respond to our needs, the needs of everyday folks," Hyden explained. "We really work hard to refute that by showing that regular everyday citizens do have power in raising their voices together. "

She noted Arise's policy goals also include increasing human service budgets, securing education funds, preserving voting rights through no-excuse early voting and easier rights restoration. The organization also aims to tackle policies aimed at improving criminal justice outcomes, maternal and infant care and public transportation funding, and requiring unanimous jury decisions in death-penalty cases.

Hyden pointed out change does not happen quickly and takes everyone working together. She emphasized some ways they plan to work to bring the policies to life are through policy analysis, producing advocacy materials such as fact sheets and reports to spread information, and empowering regular citizens to engage with local lawmakers in their districts.

"We always want to go into the legislative session having fully educated lawmakers about how important it is to address poverty in their district and how we think they could do that," Hyden stressed. "We never want to hear a lawmaker stand up and say, 'Hey, nobody in my district has talked to me about this.'"

Alabama Arise achieved partial success this year when the state sales tax on groceries was unanimously reduced by half. However, she admitted more can be done and said they will continue to fight for the complete removal of this tax burden on low-income families. She added they will be challenging state income tax deductions currently benefiting the wealthiest households.

A group of veterans is touting the national security benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act.

The organization Elected Officials to Protect America said the law, passed by Congress in 2022, will decrease the country's dependence on foreign sources of energy with a $370 billion investment in clean energy.

Beaverton Mayor Lacey Beaty, an Army veteran, said in the wake of the region's devastating wildfires and the heat dome, she helped push for protections for renters in Oregon.

"While I'm very proud of that legislation, I'm very proud that the governor signed it and I was very proud to build the coalition to do it, imagine what a tenacious mayor could have done if I wasn't focusing on climate-related emergencies," Beaty pointed out. "We could have been building more pipes in schools and infrastructure and bridges."

Beaty stressed the recent disasters in the state have underscored the importance of taking action on climate change.

Alex Cornell du Houx, president and co-founder of Elected Officials to Protect America, a former marine and Maine state representative, pointed to the conflict in Ukraine as evidence of the importance of energy independence.

"With the Inflation Reduction Act, it is part of the solution to decouple ourselves from this dependency on the source of energy in which autocratic nations primarily control," du Houx explained. "That's the exciting thing about it. It's an amazing solution that's really tangible and a historic investment."

Beaty contends mayors like her will ensure funds from the Inflation Reduction Act go to the places doing the most good to fight climate change.

"We can be trusted by the president to deliver on the ground," Beaty emphasized. "That's why we see so many mayors excited about the Inflation Reduction Act, because we know how to put money to work right away."


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