Majority Caucus Vice Chair Senator Debbie Regala (D-27) has filed a bill (SB 6022) that would delay the implementation of a twice voter-approved initiative mandating more stringent training, certification, and criminal background checks for home health care workers—i.e., those looking after our older and more vulnerable populations.

Initiative 1163, which was sponsored by the SEIU healthcare union, is currently slated to go into effect on this Saturday, January 7. However, this bill would block the implementation of I-1163 until July of 2014—in effect, giving the legislature another two-year reprieve from scraping together the net $17.8 million needed to implement these changes in 2012 and 2013.

"These reforms need to happen now," says Benton Strong, a spokesman for SEIU 775. "We're seeing cases of abuse and neglect increase and in the long run, keeping qualified people in long-term care saves the state money."

This isn't the first time state legislators have pulled this sleight of hand. The new requirements were first approved by voters in 2008 (by a 73 percent margin), but unions agreed to work with legislators to delay their implementation a few years and long story short, they got burned. So union reps came back again last year with I-1163, which was overwhelmingly approved, again.

"This is something that voters have declared a priority—twice," Strong stresses. "The state needs to look at ways to generate revenue instead of putting it on the backs of vulnerable people."

When Tim Eyman passes a batshit initiative, legislators refuse to meddle with it citing the sacrosanct "will of the people;" when anyone else passes an initiative, it's fair game. That's a pretty fucked up message.