AlamedaTimes-Star

11/17/03

Caltrans tight-lipped on cuts

Agency denies lawmakers' requests for description of effects of cutbacks on projects

SACRAMENTO -- Caltrans has denied a request from Fremont Assemblyman John Dutra and another key lawmaker to describe the effects of budget cutting on state highway projects.

The agency says the information has been deemed "confidential" by Gov. Gray Davis' Department of Finance.

The Department of Finance "has informed us that the detailed reduction plans are confidential at this time and are not to be released by individual departments," Jeff Morales, director of the California Department of Transportation, wrote in a Nov. 7 letter to the chairmen of the Senate and Assembly transportation committees.

The Department of Finance plans to respond to the letter, Morales wrote, and Finance Director Steve Peace confirmed that his staff has been working with Caltrans on a response.

It probably will be done next week, after Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger is sworn in, Peace said.

Dutra, D-Fremont, who is chairman of the transportation committee, said he doesn't care which department answers as long as he gets a response.

"I'm not going to accept 'no' for an answer," he said. "I see no reason whatsoever for any of this information to be regarded as confidential."

Dutra and his Senate counterpart, Kevin Murray, D-Culver City, wrote the letter Oct. 31 seeking information about cuts mandated by the state budget signed last summer. The budget called for $1.1 billion to be trimmed from state operations, mostly through abolishing vacant positions, layoffs, wage concessions and canceling contracts for temporary help.

State departments such as Caltrans were required to come up with plans for slashing costs. Davis' Department of Finance worked with them to find ways to minimize the impact on state services and jobs.

Caltrans' plan called for the elimination of 1,612 positions in a work force of about 20,000.

The two lawmakers asked Morales if the department had started to implement its plan, who was responsible for crafting it and the likely effects of staff cutbacks on highway projects and repairs. They also asked whether the cuts would diminish Caltrans' ability to claim federal funds and whether there were alternatives.

"This is not top-secret information," Dutra said.

Dutra said that a delay of highway projects could have serious consequences for the economy.

"We're not fighting the reductions," he said. "We're trying to determine whether the reductions make sense or not. We're just trying to find out what the intent is."

The two lawmakers asked for answers by Nov. 4.

Peace said it has taken some time, but that "we always respond to requests from the Legislature."

Some of the effects of the cuts are unknown, he said, because the Davis administration has taken pains to leave the incoming governor as many options as possible. The reduction plans also are somewhat fluid and could be adjusted later in the fiscal year, he said.

Schwarzenegger spokesman H.D. Palmer said the incoming administration hasn't yet considered whether to release information about budget cut effects.

Last month, the Sacramento Bee made a formal request under the state Public Records Act for details of the reduction plans and analyses of how they would be felt by Californians.

The Department of Finance denied that request. A department lawyer argued that the documents were used to arrive at decisions and that releasing them would "discourage candid discussion and inhibit the free flow of ideas" among officials.