League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Santa Clara County, CA November 2, 2010 Election
	Measure A Santa Clara County Children's Health Protection County of Santa Clara parcel tax - 2/3 Approval Required Fail: 279,844 / 58.76% Yes votes ...... 196,397 / 41.24% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure A

Arguments Against Measure A

For nearly a decade, Santa Clara County has provided healthcare insurance for thousands of children. Now, this nationally-recognized program is in peril. Yes on Measure A would provide a sustainable source of funds to maintain this vital program. Yes on Measure A will ensure that ALL eligible county children have access to health insurance including preventative healthcare services and early detection and treatment for such terrible illnesses as asthma or diabetes. It means immunizations, regular checkups, helping prevent childhood obesity, and keeping children in school. Yes on Measure A is a smart investment. Early treatment makes sense medically AND financially as children who get early treatment don't usually depend on the County's emergency room or clinics for help. That saves us all precious tax dollars. This program allows the County to enroll eligible children in federal or state health programs leveraging an additional $24 million in local funding. 90% of those who now participate have one or two working parents - they just simply cannot afford private health insurance. Covered families must do their share, contributing co-payments and premiums. Measure A will also ensure that children not covered by the recently approved Federal healthcare reform, are insured locally. The Federal program alone is not enough. Finally, Measure A includes strict accountability measures. Annual audits will be made public. A Citizen's Oversight Committee will be appointed to review expenditures and monitor success rates. Without Measure A, thousands of kids will lose health coverage. Yes on Measure A is supported by a wide and politically diverse cross-section of Santa Clara County - from business to labor, from conservatives to liberals. This program works and we hope you vote to preserve it. Yes on Measure A will ensure that ALL Santa Clara County children have full access to healthcare. Please join us. Vote Yes on Measure A. (www.AVoteForKids. com). /s/ Michael M. Honda Member of Congress /s/ Laurie Smith Sheriff Santa Clara County /s/ Thomas Werner SunPower Corp., CEO /s/ Ken Yeager Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, President /s/ Joanne E. Allen St. Louise Regional Hospital - Gilroy, CEO Rebuttal to Arguments For Aren't we Taxed Enough Already? Vote NO on Measure A! Problems with this parcel tax: Hits already struggling homeowners hardest. The list of taxes and assessments on our property tax bills are already long enough. After ten years there is no existing financial data that proves this program is a "smart investment." Raising local taxes to "leverage" state and federal taxes means increased spending requiring us to pay more in state and federal taxes. Our federal and state tax dollars already fund Medi-Cal and California's Healthy Families for eligible children. This program is also receiving "First Five" and tobacco tax dollars. Why then the need for more local tax dollars to fund those who don't qualify for programs we are already paying for? There has to be a legitimate reason they are ineligible for the existing program and recently approved Federal healthcare reform. Stimulate your household economy by voting NO on this and all the other tax increases on this ballot. Vote NO on Measure A! /s/ Douglas A. McNea President, Silicon Valley Taxpayers' Association /s/ Brian S. Darby Chair, Libertarian Party of Santa Clara County /s/ Mark W.A. Hinkle District Resident

We already pay for children's health care--through Medi-Cal and California's Healthy Families Program. Who are we to force others to pay this tax? Many of our neighbors are "under water"--or close to it--in their mortgages. Many more are struggling to keep their homes due to unemployment. Do we have a right to say they must pay for others--or else? Measure A alone is costing us County taxpayers $1.4 million already--just to be on the ballot. That's just one example of government's cost of overhead and waste being so high. If this really were for children, it would have made more sense to give the $1.4 million directly to Healthy Kids or the county hospital. Who makes better use of their money: private, voluntary charities, who must work well or close their doors--or government agencies, who know that taxpayer funds will be there no matter what? There are too many new taxes being proposed this election. Now is the wrong time to approve new taxes on others who are already struggling with shrinking or fixed income. Vote NO on Measure A. If you have the means, donate directly to Santa Clara Family Health Foundation, and encourage others to do the same, thus helping without hurting others who are hurting already. It's time to put an end to the notion that if a cause is worthwhile, we should force taxpayers to be "charitable." What a contradiction. Make a voluntary contribution, if you choose, and then protect your fellow taxpayers: VOTE NO on Measure A! For more information visit http://www.SVTaxpayers.org. /s/ Douglas A. McNea President, Silicon Valley Taxpayers' Association /s/ Brian S. Darby Chair, Libertarian Party of Santa Clara County /s/ Mark W. A. Hinkle District Resident Rebuttal to Arguments Against Leading business executives and fiscally prudent community leaders support Yes on Measure A because it makes sense financially. A decade ago, Santa Clara County treated thousands of sick children annually at the County hospital emergency room or clinics - a very expensive way to care for sick children. It cost taxpayers millions and impacted funding for other vital healthcare programs. After the Healthy Kid's program started and eligible families received health insurance for their children, sick children received treatment or preventative healthcare services without going to the County emergency room. Instead of costly healthcare once they became sick, children could get immunizations and regular check-ups - while staying in school. This program has saved taxpayers millions. It also leverages $24 million more annually in federal/state funding. But after a decade of public/private partnerships between the County and private charities, private sector funding is disappearing. If private donations could sustain the program, this measure would not be proposed. Please join us in voting Yes on Measure A to provide a stable source of funding. For a homeowner or property owner, the cost is about $2 per month -- that's all. Yet, should the program be eliminated, the cost to taxpayers will be far greater and threaten other vital County healthcare services we all rely upon. Annual audits and strict accountability measures are required. Please join us in making a fiscally sound decision - vote Yes on Measure A. http://www.AVoteForKids.com /s/ Donald F. Gage Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, District 1 /s/ Susan W. Hammer former Mayor of San Jose /s/ Carl Guardino Silicon Valley Leadership Group, CEO /s/ Gregg Adams former Chief of Pediatric Trauma-Santa Clara Valley Medical Center/ Clinical associate Professor of Surgery-Stanford School of Medicine /s/ Dana Tom Palo Alto Unified School District Board Trustee

Full Text of Measure A

PARCEL TAX AUTHORIZATION By approval of this measure by at least two-thirds of the registered voters voting on the measure, the County of Santa Clara will be authorized to levy a special tax of $29 per parcel per year, subject to accountability requirements specified below. If approved, the special tax will be levied for 10 consecutive years starting on January 1, 2011. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND The County of Santa Clara launched the nation's first universal children's health insurance program, known as Healthy Kids, through the Children's Health Initiative (CHI) in 2001. When Healthy Kids program started, one out of eight children in Santa Clara County did not have health coverage. Due to the efforts of CHI, 97% of children now have health coverage. The CHI has assisted over 171,000 children in applying for Medi-Cal, Healthy Families and Healthy Kids - the three programs comprising the Children's Health Initiative. Healthy Kids provides medical, dental and vision benefits for all children up to age 19 who are living in the County, whose families earn no more than 300 percent of the federal poverty level and are ineligible for government-sponsored health insurance. Over 37,000 individual children have received health care coverage through the Healthy Kids program since its inception. Studies have found children enrolled in Healthy Kids are more likely to get the care they need to ensure healthy development, including preventive care, immunizations and basic, routine care with their own doctors. Specifically, the percentage of children with a usual source for medical care almost doubled and unmet medical need dropped by more than half. Studies have also found that insured children perform better in school and are better prepared to succeed in life. The number of students missing three or more school days in the previous month due to health problems dropped by more than 50 percent. With Healthy Kids, children were able attend to class more frequently and are more likely to succeed, and schools received additional revenue to pay for the cost of education. Healthy Kids has leveraged millions in state and federal resources for Santa Clara County community clinics and local schools. With increased enrollment in Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, Healthy Kids leverages more than $24 million in state and federal funds yearly. Without Healthy Kids, this funding would likely be redirected to other communities. Healthy Kids has survived on a patchwork of local funding support, including from private foundations. Unfortunately, the funding that has sustained the current Healthy Kids program for a decade is unraveling. This year, nearly half the funding for the Healthy Kids program has been eliminated. As a result, if this measure does not pass, thousands of kids could lose their health insurance due to lack of funding for this highly successful program. While national health care reform is expected to dramatically increase access to health insurance coverage for adults, the legislation does not include any expansion of eligibility of public programs for children in California. Therefore, even after full implementation of national health care reform, there will still be a need to maintain the Healthy Kids program. Without Healthy Kids, families of low-income children currently eligible for Healthy Kids will likely be uninsured. The money from the special tax would be used to sustain the Healthy Kids program and continue to provide health insurance coverage for low- to moderate-income children. ACCOUNTABILITY REQUIREMENTS The provisions in this section are specifically included in this measure in order that the voters and the taxpayers in the County may be assured that their money will be spent wisely. As required by the laws of the State of California, the proceeds of the special tax will be deposited into a special account established by the County and will be applied only to the specific purposes set forth below. The County will keep on file with the County Executive's Office annual reports stating the amount of funds collected and spent, and status of any project authorized to be funded. The first report shall be filed by the County's Director of Finance no later than January 1, 2012, and reports shall be filed at least once a year thereafter. A Citizens Oversight Committee shall be established to review the annual report each year to ensure that the proceeds are being spent in compliance with this measure. Additionally, the funds collected and spent shall be subject to an audit. AMOUNT AND BASIS OF TAX The proposed special tax shall be in a fixed amount of $29 per parcel for 10 consecutive years assessed against each parcel of land within the boundaries of the County, beginning January 1, 2011. A parcel shall be defined as any unit of land in the County that receives a tax bill from the Santa Clara County Tax Collector. PURPOSE OF PARCEL TAX Revenue from the special tax will be used to partially fund health insurance premiums paid by the families of qualified children. The premiums will be used to provide medical, dental and vision health care through the Children's Health Initiative to children up to, and including, the age of nineteen who otherwise do not have health insurance coverage or qualify for a public program and whose families earn no more than 300 percent of the federal poverty level. Up to 3 percent of the funds collected from the parcel tax can be used for outreach in order to help enroll children from qualified families. No funds from the special tax shall fund administrator salaries. SEVERABILITY The Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Clara hereby declares, and the voters by approving this measure concur, that every section and part of this measure has independent value, and the Board of Supervisors and the voters would have adopted each provision hereof regardless of every other provision hereof. Upon approval of this measure by the voters, should any part of the measure or taxing formula be found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid for any reason, all remaining parts of the measure or taxing formula hereof shall remain in full force and effect to the fullest extent allowed by law.