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Tuesday, 07 April 2009 |
 Amador County – Among the array of topics at the Town Hall meeting hosted last week by Assemblywoman Alyson Huber, the common thread seemed to be finances. Huber fielded questions and told of her approaches to state budgeting, while “not defending” the lately passed budget. Huber said one suggestion from a constituent was to “fire all of the legislators,” which would “only save $133 Million Dollars,” in the face of the $8 Billion Dollar state budget deficit. Amador City olive farmer Susan Bragstad said “how about legalizing marijuana?” Huber said she has “actually gotten a lot of e-mails saying we should” legalize marijuana. But she said that was probably not the solution to generating revenue, and it would conflict with the federal government’s outlawing of marijuana. She suggested that the state could change the penalty for marijuana. Mike Delaney, president of the Amador Teachers Association asked about how the federal stimulus funding could be brought to the county, in a more stable and way. Huber said she did not think California had received the federal stimulus yet, and that the “money was supposed to go straight to the school.” She said for those changes in state funding allocation, “we need to start with a Constitutional Convention.” The Foothill Conservancy’s Katherine Evatt also asked about slow funding streams. Huber said it “takes revenue coming in to get that money out.” She said the California government’s poor credit rating – “triple-A” – due to the $8 Billion Dollar deficit – is “the reason for the cashflow problems.” Retired veterinarian Wendell Peart asked about the impact of immigration. Huber said the state must police its border with Mexico without federal funding assistance. “We are a donor state,” Huber said. “For every dollar we send to Washington D.C., we only get 77 cents back.” Huber said federal law also mandated that the hospitals must give medical aid to anyone who shows up at an emergency room, including illegal immigrants. Story by Jim Reece
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