Potential Changes to Proposition 49 (ASES) Funding
Would Allow Legislators to Reduce or Eliminate ASES Funding
The State Legislature’s Budget Conference Committee composed of members or the California State Senate and Assembly, adopted language for a budget trailer bill that attempts to repeal the guaranteed funding allocation in Proposition 49, the After School Education and Safety (ASES) program, which currently funds over 3,800 after school programs statewide. This language goes further than originally proposed by either house of the Legislature. It would submit an initiative to the voters that would give the Legislature the authority to substantially reduce after school funding or eliminate the state’s after school programs altogether, although the committee stated this was not the intent of the initiative. If placed on the November Ballot and passed by California voters, the initiative would end the guaranteed continuous appropriation for ASES programs, and funding levels would be set annually by the Legislature. In order to move any further, this measure would have to be part of a budget passed by a two-thirds vote of the full Legislature, and be signed by the Governor, before moving to the ballot. If passed by voters in November, this initiative could impact 2009-2010 after-school funding.