Speaker to ask for vote on governor's health plan

By Shane Goldmacher - Bee Capitol Bureau

Published 11:36 am PDT Friday, August 24, 2007

Ratcheting up the pressure in the health care debate, Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez's office said Friday the Assembly will have the governor's health care plan drafted into legislative form and voted on by the end of next week.

The move comes after the governor vowed this week to veto the Democratic health plan moving through the Legislature.

"The governor has threatened to veto the Democratic bill and insists there's support for his concepts and we'd like to see if there is," said Steve Maviglio, a spokesman for Núñez. Maviglio said the Assembly would aim for a Thursday or Friday vote next week, with the speaker as a possible author of the legislation.

Aaron McLear, a spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, said the governor "will continue to work with both Democrats and Republicans to have comprehensive health care reform by the end of the year."

Schwarzenegger introduced his health care package amid much fanfare in January, but his proposal has never been officially introduced in the Legislature. No Democratic or Republican lawmaker publicly volunteered to author the plan.

Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, said there would be few, if any, GOP votes for Schwarzenegger's plan. "There is not a great deal of affection in our caucus for the total package of the governor's proposals," Niello said.

Meanwhile, the Democrats, led by Núñez and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, introduced a counter measure, Assembly Bill 8, which would insure many, but not all, of California's uninsured through a fee on employers.

But Schwarzenegger, in a Wednesday interview with The Bee editorial board, vowed to veto that bill.

"If anyone over there thinks that I will sign a bill that comes down to me that has only employer mandate, they shouldn't," Schwarzenegger said. "I won't sign it. It won't happen. Because we will never have a chance again to go back and cover the rest."

In contrast, the governor's plan calls for universal coverage, paid for through assessments on employers, health care providers and individuals.

"We want to have shared responsibility, which is extremely important," Schwarzenegger said Wednesday. "We don't believe we should go back to (legislation) where it is just employer pays. All of those different things that I am talking about, they are connected, the dots are connected. It is like a balancing act, a human pyramid. You take one person out, and the whole thing collapses."

Perhaps as important, the governor's plan has been tagged as a tax by the Legislature's lawyers. That means it requires Republican support to achieve the necessary two-thirds vote - and every elected Republican lawmaker, save one, has signed a 'no-tax' pledge.

No legislative Republicans have publicly promised to support Schwarzenegger's health plan.

"If the (governor's) package were proposed in total and we had to take or leave it in total, then I would not vote for it and I think the Republican support would be very similar to AB 8," Niello said. No Assembly Republican voted for AB 8.

"We continue to be opposed to tax increases, taxes or fees on providers, as well as on employers," Niello added.

Alicia Trost, a spokeswoman for Perata, said the Senate had no plans to have the governor's plan introduced or put up for a floor vote.

"We believe the next step is for the governor to call a meeting to resolve our differences," she said. "We anticipate that would happen quickly."

Schwarzenegger was not immediately available for comment, said spokesman Aaron McLear, as the governor prepared for Friday's budget-signing ceremony.