League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara County, CA March 2, 2004 Election
	Tom Hutchings Answers Questions Candidate for Member of the State Assembly; District 33; Green Party

Read the answers from all candidates.

Questions & Answers

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

California cannot go after our more vulnerable citizens to balance the budget. It is absolutely unacceptable! We are in this state together and we need to institute tax reforms now. These include; increasing the tax rate for the top 2.4% of incomer earners; Initiate a severance tax on oil produced in California; Re-examine commercial/non-residential property protections; Restrict the use of corporate tax loopholes; Enforce environmental laws and collect pollution fines; Increase fuel tax to fund infrastructure and highway planning.

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

Proposition 98 should not be suspended. We need to fully fund and support public education. Proposition 98 minimum has been seen by the legislature as the maximum that they will fund. Restoring full funding to public education guarantees democracy and our ideals of social justice will continue. Our Community College systems funding should be reevaluated and funded separately from K-12. Focus needs to be on providing technical and vocational skills for our young adults to earn a living wage. The Community College system needs the support to prepare students who want to move on to the CSU and UC systems.

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

We are facing a critical surge in population. We expect to grow by 24 million people over the next 40 years. We need policies that are environmentally, socially and financially sustainable. We cannot grow beyond the carrying capacity of the environment. I do not support desalination plants because of the inherent tendencies to dump high amounts of saline back into the oceans and the ease of developing co-located power plants. We need to encourage drought-tolerant landscaping, water conservation and authorize use of grey water.

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

I sully support SB 921-Kuehl, Universal Healthcare. It is unconcionable that 7 million Californians have no healthcare, at all. As a part time Benefits Counselor working with the medically frail, I see the need to ensure our working poor. A healthy population will continue to earn an income and produce taxes. The legislature needs to abandon it partisan antics and work towards the common good rather than self-serving political interests.