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TheAssociatedPress LOS ANGELES California regulators are investigating whether Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Califor- nia misled consumers about which doctors they covered under federal health care reform packages. The California Depart- ment of Managed Care is trying to determine whether state laws were vio- lated in the way the medical insurance giants enacted new, limited health cover- age networks under the Af- fordable Care Act, the Los Angeles Times reported. "Our preliminary investi- gation gave us good cause to believe there are violations of the law," agency spokes- woman Marta Green said. Patients have complained that they were erroneously told that certain medical providers were included in the smaller networks, and they used that infor- mation to choose a health plan through Covered Cali- fornia, the state's health in- surance exchange. Other patients said they received treatment only to find out later that the doc- tor wasn't considered part of their health plan net- work. More than 200 com- plaints have been filed against the two companies this year. "Anthem and Blue Shield have led the pack on these network and provider is- sues," Green said. "Anthem Blue Cross con- tinually works to improve the accuracy of our pro- vider directory," spokes- man Darrel Ng said. "In the process of updating our provider database ear- lier in the year, we found that while the vast major- ity of the listings were cor- rect, there were some pro- viders inadvertently listed." More than 3,800 medical providers have been added to Anthem's statewide ex- change network since Jan- uary, the company said. HEALTH CARE StateprobesAnthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield By Judy Lin The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday signed California's $108 billion budget for the coming fis- cal year that pays down debt, builds a rainy day fund and provides addi- tional money for schools and health care. Brown signed the budget in a crowded, sparsely fur- nished press room at San Diego City Hall, flanked by lawmakers including As- sembly Speaker Toni Atkins, a Democrat from San Diego. "California is demonstrat- ingthatthemajoritycanactu- ally govern, unlike Washing- ton,whichismiredingridlock andpartisanshipandextreme polarization," Brown said, adding that Democrats had "a lot of cooperation from the minority party as well." Brown said the budget lowers debt, invests in pub- lic schools, shores up the teachers' pension fund and guards against another eco- nomic downturn. He said he doesn'tanticipatetappingthe rainydayfundwhileinoffice. The budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 and is built on temporary tax in- creases and surging reve- nue from the booming stock market. Republican lawmak- ers called the 2014-15 fiscal year spending plan a mixed bag. They praised the use of a more conservative rev- enue projection while criti- cizing spending on perma- nent programs that they say could be difficult to main- tain once temporary, voter- approved tax increases ex- pire in a few years. Here is where the money is directed: • Lawmakers agreed to Brown's plan to set aside $1.6 billion for the state's rainy day fund and ap- proved companion legisla- tion to start reducing $74 billion in unfunded teacher pension liabilities. • Spends $264 million for free preschool and day care for low-income fami- lies. The preschool program eventually will serve half of all 4-year-olds in the state, about 234,000 children. • Increases the maxi- mum aid allowed under California's welfare-to-work program, CalWORKS, by 5 percent starting next April. • Includes $1 billion to cover higher-than-expected Medi-Cal enrollment rates as part of the federal Afford- able Care Act's Medicaid ex- pansion. • Relatives and work- ers who care for the el- derly and people with dis- abilities outside of nursing homes will be entitled to overtime pay. • Gives $250 million this year and a quarter of future revenues from California's greenhouse gas emissions law to the $68 billion high- speed rail project. SACRAMENTO Go v. B ro wn s ig ns $108 billion budget GREGORYBULL—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS California Gov. Jerry Brown, center, holds a signed version of the 2014-15state budget a er signing the document during a news conference on Friday in San Diego. By Juliet Williams The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Amtrakand the California High-Speed RailAuthorityhavecanceled a joint agreement to bid on high-speed trains that was billedasawaytosavemoney and lure train manufactur- ing to the United States. The agencies said Friday that their needs are too dif- ferent and that manufac- turers are not yet ready to build trains that can run on both Amtrak's 100-year- old rail lines and the high- speed corridors planned for California's system. The joint proposal an- nounced in January called for bids by mid-May on up to 28 train sets with 400- 450 seats each for Amtrak and 15 train sets with a minimum of 450 seats for high-speed rail. The num- ber of cars per train would be up to bidders to propose. Lisa-Marie Alley, a spokeswoman for high- speed rail, said in meetings with manufacturers during the last few weeks it became clear that the requirements were too different to incor- porate into one set of trains. "The feedback that we got from the industry was that Amtrak and high- speed rail need such dif- ferent things, it was al- most impossible for them to build a train that meets both our needs," she said. California's $68 billion project, which has been stalled because of repeated legal setbacks that have blocked financing, requires speeds up to 220 mph, while Amtrak is limited to 160 mph on the Wash- ington-New York City-Bos- ton segment known as the Northeast Corridor. The agencies concluded that too many compro- mises would need to be made to meet both their needs, which would "move us away from a service- proven design and cre- ate significant risks as to schedule and costs," Am- trak spokesman Craig Schulz said in an email. CALIFORNIA State, Amtrak cancel joint high-speed train bid By Don Thompson The Associated Press SACRAMENTO A citizens' commission on Friday cited California's improv- ing economy as it approved 2 percent cost-of-living sal- ary increases for lawmak- ers and statewide officials, including the governor and attorney general. The increases to take ef- fect in December are the second consecutive annual pay raises approved by the California Citizens Compen- sation Commission. A year ago, commissioners voted to give raises of about 5 per- cent, restoring the wages for top elected officials to 2011 levels. The latest raises will in- crease the pay of rank-and- file lawmakers — already the highest in the nation — to $97,197. Legislators also are eligible for a $163 daily cost-of-living allowance but do not get pensions. During the recent reces- sion, the commission cut lawmakers' pay by 18 per- cent and eliminated their use of state-owned vehicles. "I believe the governor and the legislators, if they get tarred when times are tough, they ought to get at least some credit when things are improving," commissioner Scott Somers said. He had argued unsuc- cessfully for bigger in- creases, including 3 percent for statewide officials, 5 per- cent for Assembly members and 8 percent for state sena- tors because they represent more constituents. "The fiscal health is much stronger," said com- missioner Nancy Miller, who had unsuccessfully sought a 5 percent across- the-board increase. Commissioners finally agreed to the 2 percent cost-of-living increases, the same amount approved for state managers that will take effect when the new fiscal year starts next month. The seven-member com- mission supported the 2 percent increase on a 4-1 vote, with one seat vacant and one member absent. The lone "no" vote was by Anthony Barkett. "We raised taxes, that's why we have the money" that has bolstered the state's budget, Barkett said. Moreover, he said voters ap- proved sales and income tax increases in 2012 because they were told the money generally would go to edu- cation. "The economy is better. It's much better in some areas, it's not much bet- ter in a lot of areas, not in the Central Valley for in- stance," Barkett said, urg- ing commissioners to wait at least two more years to raise salaries. "As a state, I don't think we're there yet." The commissioners are appointed by the governor. Gov. Jerry Brown is cur- rently paid about $174,000 a year, well below the $212,179 peak salary paid to former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2008 be- fore the commission began cutting officials' compensa- tion. The governor's annual salary will rise to $177,467 next year. Commissioners said that still trails salaries paid to several mayors across Cal- ifornia, while lawmak- ers' pay is lower than that of some city councils and county supervisors. The salary for the Cali- fornia state attorney gen- eral, the state's chief law enforcement officer, will increase from $151,127 to $154,150. SACRAMENTO Panel OKs 2 percent raise for officials The Associated Press BERKELEY The San Fran- cisco Bay Area city of Berke- ley is moving forward with plans to put climate-change warning labels on gas pumps in what could be the first such requirement of its kind in the nation. The city's community en- vironmental advisory com- mission called on the city manager last week to draft an ordinance for the labels. The city council is expected to vote on the ordinance in the fall, the Oakland Tri- bune reported on Friday. A draft of the possi- ble sign posted by the San Francisco Chronicle in- forms drivers that burning gas releases carbon diox- ide and the state has deter- mined that carbon diox- ide emissions cause global warming. It says global warming caused by carbon dioxide emissions poses a serious threat to the state's economic well-being, pub- lic health, natural resources and environment. "It's not going to be earth- shatteringconsequences, but I think it's a clever way to get more people to think," City Councilman Kriss Worthing- ton told the Tribune. "It's not going to immediately cease purchases at the gas pump. That'snotourgoal.Thepoint of sale is a great place to have people stop and think about the impact." CLIMATE CHANGE Berkeley pursues gas- pump warning labels 12149 Highway 99 W, Red Bluff www.southmainstorage.com NEW MOVE-IN SPECIALS! 888-820-7250 SOUTH MAIN MINI STORAGE • Low Price Guarantee! • No Deposit or Admin Fees! • Drive-up Units. • Individually alarmed. • 24-hour video survelliance. 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