April 8, 2008

Assembly Report

Acting instead of reacting could save the state money

By State Rep. Jim Beall
Special to the Times

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and if the state legislature adhered to that philosophy, we could save millions and have a healthier California, too.

But too many times our state’s policies force lawmakers to react instead of act, trapping the legislature in a cycle that addresses only the symptom but not the problem. The result is that political expediency drives policy and tough problems are brushed aside for another day.

A prime example is our approach to crime. In the past four years state spending for prisons has skyrocketed 74 percent, compared to less than 9 percent increase for vital human services that help the poor, disabled, and elderly.

Pouring money into prisons is a loathsome choice. But this choice gets worse when you realize the state is facing an $8 billion deficit and the governor is targeting our schools and the services that our most fragile citizens rely on for deep cuts.

Tossing more and more offenders into a growing prison system isn’t the answer.

The best solution is to attack the problems that set the stage for criminal behavior – drug addiction and alcohol abuse. About one-fifth of the California ’s 170,000 prisoners are doing time on drug charges but more than one-half of total inmate population is incarcerated for crimes in which drugs played an ancillary role.

It’s clear to me that if we can prevent addiction and get swift treatment for alcohol and drug abusers, we will not only reduce crime, but reduce future medical costs to the state while rescuing lives and families. That’s why I have introduced these bills:

--Assembly Bill 2129 protects the unborn by setting up a voluntary program for counties to conduct alcohol and drug abuse screening and an intervention program for pregnant women and women who are in their child bearing years. The screenings and intervention are quick and non-intrusive and can be easily incorporated into initial prenatal examinations and later visits. This legislation is primarily aimed at reducing cases of fetal alcohol syndrome, one of the leading known preventable causes of birth defects and developmental disabilities. Effective prevention and intervention programs will reduce the costs of medical and dental care, foster care, special education, and prisons that can be attributed to the affects of prenatal substance exposure to the child later in life.

--Assembly Bill 1887 ends discrimination against patients with mental disorders and substance abuse issues by requiring insurers to cover treatment for those illnesses equivalent to the coverage provided for other medical illnesses. Currently, people with mental illnesses who are unable to obtain treatment have forced law enforcement to serve as mental health providers of the last resort, costing California taxpayers about $1.8 billion a year.

--Assembly Bill 2088 creates a cabinet-level position, the Secretary of Addiction Prevention and Recovery Services, to coordinate all funding and services for drug and alcohol programs administered by every state agency that serves people suffering from alcoholism or drug addiction. This new position will unify the state’s disjointed efforts to stem addiction. The costs of the secretary’s office will be absorbed by existing departments that now serve clients suffering from addiction with no new burden on the general fund.

To get updates on this legislation or to learn how to support these bills, please visit my Web site, http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a24/.