League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Monterey, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz Counties, CA March 2, 2004 Election
	John Laird Answers Questions Candidate for Member of the State Assembly; District 27; Democratic Party

Read the answers from all candidates.

Questions & Answers

1. What does California need to do to address the current budget crisis?

California must do a number of things to address the current budget crisis: refinance accumulated deficit and address the remaining structural deficit through a combination of cuts and new revenues. Reforms should be made to require a balanced budget and reserve, and to protect against future swings in state fiscal health.

2. What should the state's priorities be for K-12 education? For the Community College System?

The state must plan for outdated school facilities, an upcoming shortage of teachers, and insure high standards to measure education outcomes for students. The Community College system should receive a fair share of the split in revenues under Proposition 98.

3. What measures would you support to address California's water needs?

I believe that California should address this issue on a number of fronts: 1) mandate water conservation measures at a state-wide level; 2) have a faster coordinated response to contaminated water taken off-line; 3) ensure equity to all areas of California in distribution of water supply funds; 4) plan for the lessening of California's water bank + the Sierra snowpack + due to climate change, 5) manage groundwater supplies in a more organized manner; and 6) encourage beneficiary-pays, environmentally- sensitive water development.

4. What should the Legislature be doing to address the needs of Californians without health insurance?

I support SB921, single payer health care, as a method to ensure that all state residents are insured for health care services. I supported SB2, which is a step toward this goal. I believe that enrollment in the Healthy Families program and other programs that extend insurance to children in California should not be capped.