Back in September, the Governor called special sessions of the legislature to try to reach agreement on health care and water. So how’s it going? Jenny O’Mara reports.
Democratic Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez said earlier this month he wanted lawmakers to vote on a health care measure just after Thanksgiving -- whether it was a bill by Democrats or a compromise deal with the Governor. So far that deal has not been reached. But Nunez’s spokesman Steve Maviglio says the Speaker postponed his previously planned post-Thanksgiving legislative session, so that discussions may continue.
Maviglio: There’s a lot of areas of agreement but there’s many more areas of disagreement. And you need the entire puzzle to be put together. Every time you move one piece another becomes unglued.
Democrats have agreed to the Governor’s requirement that all Californians have health coverage. But the two sides differ on how to fund it and how much employers should pay to provide coverage, among other things. As for water, ongoing negotiations between the Democratic head of the state Senate and the Governor have not yet brought about a deal. Political analyst and USC Senior Scholar Sherry Bebitch-Jeffe says of the two subjects health care is tops with voters.
Bebitch: Health care in the eyes of the voters, rightly or wrongly, is a far more critical issue, a far more necessary issue in which to have some progress.
If deals are reached voters could see something on one or both issues on the November ballot.
