Yes on Propositions 1D and 1E

Propositions 1D and 1E would take money away from two of the most vulnerable populations in California -- low-income children and the mentally ill. They would counter the will of the voters, who chose to create special taxes to fund progressive new programs for these groups, and would probably worsen homelessness and poverty. About the only thing worse than passing them would be not passing them.

Like the other measures on the May 19 ballot, these two are part of a package put together by the Legislature after months of acrimonious negotiations. Also like the others, they bear the stamp of tit-for-tat deal-making. Both involve cuts to programs favored by Democrats, and one of them, 1E, targets the brainchild of state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento). Steinberg and fellow Democrats doubtless offered them up to Republicans as a compromise to persuade them to accept the tax increases approved in budget negotiations.

Proposition 1D targets money raised under Proposition 10, which voters narrowly passed in 1998. It imposed a 50-cents-per-pack tax on cigarettes and dedicated the money toward early childhood development programs. Proposition 1D would seize $268 million per year of that tobacco tax money, or half of the current revenue it generates, for five years and use it to fill holes in the state's general fund. Because the number of smokers in California is falling steadily, by the fifth year the initiative would grab up to 70% of the tax revenues.

Proposition 10 has taken its share of criticism in the decade since it was approved, because it contained few specifics about how the money should be spent. Most of it is allocated by "First 5" commissions in each of the state's 58 counties, which divvy it out to programs that support at-risk children under 5. That leaves plenty of room for disagreement about spending priorities, and First 5 generated controversy in 2006 when it spent millions on ads that appeared to promote a ballot initiative backed by movie producer Rob Reiner, who was then chairman of the organization's statewide governing board.

Yet First 5 has done a lot of good work across the state, funding healthcare for children whose parents can't afford insurance, helping families in crisis and sending kids to preschool. Such early intervention saves lives, keeps families together and improves the odds that children will do well in school and hold jobs once they graduate. So it's with heavy hearts that we recommend a yes vote on Proposition 1D.