Legislation Update: Monday, October 3, 2005
1.
“No on 76” Campaign
California State PTA has taken an “OPPOSE” position on Proposition 76 on the November 8, 2005 Special Election Ballot. This is the only ballot measure that CAPTA has chosen to take a position on. PTA believes that this ballot measure is critical to the future of education funding in California and merits our full attention and energy.
Proposition 76 is a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the governor to declare a fiscal emergency and cut General Fund spending if revenues fall 1.5% or more below forecast levels unless legislation is enacted to address the emergency within 45 days.
PTA believes that Proposition 76 would result in major funding cuts to schools and hurt our children:
· It would result in a permanent loss to our schools of $4 billion every year as the maintenance factor guaranteed within Proposition 98 for 2004 would never be repaid. This is a loss of $500 per student per year
· Would fundamentally change the minimum funding guarantee to public schools under Proposition 98 approved by voters in 1988 to ensure a stable and consistent level of educational funding over time thereby ensuring California remains among the lowest funded educational systems in the country
· Proposition 76 would allow the governor alone to cut additional funding for schools in the middle of the school year, creating havoc for local school budgets
Proposition 76 would eliminate California’s constitutional system of checks and balances:
· Would give the governor unprecedented budget powers to override state laws with no public oversight
Proposition 76 would not solve California’s budget problems.
· Does away with incentives for the governor and the legislature to work together and does nothing to prevent tax hikes
· Could result in funding cuts to other important programs such as public safety, health care, transportation and early childhood development programs
Proposition 76 is opposed by the California State PTA, League of Women Voters of California, Congress of California Seniors as well as parents, teachers and public safety groups.
Proposition 76
won’t solve our state’s budget problems, but it will hurt our
schools.
On November 8,
please vote NO on Proposition 76!
For more information on Proposition 76, see:
· Non-partisan sources:
EdSource: www.edsource.org/pub_guide_prop76.cfm
California Budget Project: http://www.cbp.org/
Legislative Analyst’s Office: http://www.lao.ca.gov/
League of Women Voters of California: http://ca.lwv.org/action/prop0511/prop76.html
· Opposition to Proposition 76:
California State PTA: http://www.capta.org/
Alliance for a Better California: www.betterCA.com/Prop76
· Support for Proposition 76: http://www.joinarnold.com/
For further information on this and all the initiatives on the November special election, go to the Easy Voter Guide site at http://www.easyvoter.org/ .
2.
Governor signs school nutrition bills
On September 15, 2005 Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger signed landmark legislation establishing the most rigorous
nutrition standards in the country for foods and beverages sold on public school
campuses K-12. With the enactment of SB 12 and SB 965, California has made the
most important gains in school nutrition since school lunch was introduced after
World War II. The
passage of these bills represents a critical step in addressing the growing
epidemic of overweight children. Thank-you to all PTA members, units, councils,
and districts who voiced their support for these bills and helped make this
victory possible.
SB 12 Bans School Junk Food
(K-12)
SB 12 established nutrition standards for any food
sold anywhere on school campuses K-12 outside the school meal program. Those
include foods sold a la carte, in vending machines, in school stores, or as part
of a school fundraiser. The bill established limits on fat and sugar content and
portion size. Nutrition standards go into effect July 1, 2007.
• an individually sold snack may have no more
than:
·
35% of its calories from fat
·
10% of its calories from saturated fat
·
35% sugar by weight
·
175 calories (elementary
schools)
·
250 calories (middle and high
schools)
• An individually sold entree may have no more than
4 grams of fat per 100 calories; 400 calories; and must qualify under the federal meal
program.
Nutrition standards apply only to the sale of items to
pupils and do not apply to foods brought from home. All groups selling or
serving food on campus to pupils are required to follow the standards.
Foods that do not meet the standards may be sold at least
one-half hour after the end of the school day or off the school
premises.
Reducing soda consumption is one of the most promising strategies for
addressing the epidemic of overweight children. SB 965 defined school beverage
standards for high schools, eliminating the sale of soda and other sweetened
beverages on high school campuses in California. Similar standards had already
been established for elementary and middle schools through SB 677 (Ortiz, 2003).
Half of beverages sold on high school campuses must meet these standards by
July 1, 2007. All beverages sold on high school campuses must meet these
standards by July 1, 2009:
· Fruit-based and vegetable-based drinks that are at least 50 percent fruit juice without added sweeteners
·
Drinking water without added
sweeteners
·
Milk products including
two-percent, one-percent, nonfat, soy, rice and other similar non-dairy
milk
·
An electrolyte replacement
beverage that contains no more than 42 grams of added sweetener per 20-ounce
serving
3.
Skin Cancer Prevention Bill Awaiting Signature (SB
688)
Senator Speier’s bill requires the State Department of Education to develop a skin cancer prevention policy to educate children in Grades 1-6. In addition, the bill requires the DOE to conduct a shade structure cost study for California’s schools.
Pleasanton PTA Council fully supports this bill as we believe it is a step toward addressing the concerns we took forward to the State PTA in May 2005 with our resolution on Sun Safety.
This bill has been passed by both the Assembly and the Senate and is on the Governor’s desk to be signed or vetoed before October 9th. Please consider calling the Governor’s office at (916) 445-2841 to register your support of SB 688.
4.
Health Education Curriculum Standards Bill Awaiting
Signature (AB 689)
AB 689 (Nava).
Sponsored by the California State PTA, the California Department of Education,
and the American Heart Association, is a bill that would require the State Board
of Education to adopt, content standards in the curriculum area of health
education. AB 689 has passed both houses of the Legislature and is now on the
Governor’s desk to await his decision to sign or veto this bill.
You can contact the Governor’s office by phone, fax, or letter to voice you
or your support for AB 689. Letters can be addressed to the Capitol Building,
Sacramento California, 95814. Faxes can be sent to (916) 445-4633. Telephone
calls can be made to (916) 445-2841