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Proposition 3 : Children 's Hospital Bond Act . Grant Program

Proposition 3 , which is to be voted on the November 4 , 2008 election asks "Shall 980 ,000 ,000 in general obligation bonds be authorized for construction , expansion , remodeling , renovation , furnishing and equipping of eligible children 's hospitals " Hospitals that receive funding under Prop 3 would be required to "provide comprehensive services to a high volume of children eligible for governmental programs and meet other requirements (League of Women Voters of California 2008 . Under Prop 3 , 20 percent of the funds generated by the

sale of these bonds would go to the five University of California general acute care hospitals , while 80 percent would be distributed to hospitals that treat children with leukemia , cancer , heart defects , diabetes , sickle cell anemia , cystic fibrosis , and other serious illnesses . The cost of Prop 3 would depend on the interest rates of the bonds sold however , the California Legislative Analyst (2008 ) estimated that the off over a 30 year period , for an annual cost of about 64 million

Analysis of Legislation

Supporters of Prop 3 claim that the additional funds are needed if California is to be expected to meet the medical needs of its children California is expected to experience a 35 percent increase in the number of children living in the state over the next 20 years (ImagineWithUs .org , 2008 . The hospitals that are expected to meet the eligibility requirements of Prop 3 currently handle 88 of the inpatient care for children who need heart surgery 97 of all surgery for children who need organ transplants and 71 of inpatient care for children with cancer (ImagineWithUs .org , 2008 . Supporters of Prop 3 have noted that there is already a shortage of hospital beds and other healthcare facilities for children "Prop . 3 To Raise 980M For Children 's Hospitals . As the number of children in California increases , there will be an even greater need for additional hospital beds , equipment , and other facilities

Prop 3 may be viewed as a continuation of a plan to improve the delivery of healthcare services to seriously ill children living in California that began in 2004 when California voters approved Proposition 61 . Under Prop 61 , voters authorized the sale of 750 million in general obligation bonds to provide funding for children 's hospitals . As of June 1 of this year 403 million , or 53 percent of the funds generated by Prop 61 , had been awarded to eligible hospitals . Prop 3 is intended to ensure that these funds continue to meet the medical needs of the future . Prop 61 established a set of criteria to be used to determine whether a hospital was eligible for funding . Prop 3 uses these same criteria to determine whether hospitals are eligible (California Legislative Analyst , 2008

Opponents of Prop 3 have claimed that the measure is unnecessary . To support their claims , those who are opposed to Prop 3 have pointed out that 47 percent of the funds generated by Prop 61 have not been awarded...