Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez suffered a huge legislative defeat on Monday as the Senate Health Committee unanimously voted against ABx1 1, legislation designed to provide coverage for 3.7 million uninsured Californians.  What was once hailed as a bipartisan agreement, even though no Republican legislators supported the bill, lost momentum with Democrat lawmakers following a report released last week by the Legislative Analyst's Office that concluded the plan would cost significantly more that originally projected.  Coupled with the current state deficit of $14.5 billion, strong opposition to the proposed tobacco tax, and significant concern from the business community about the contribution thresholds, it became apparent that the funds and support were not available to effectively carryout the plan.
 
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