In response to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s latest proposal to cut $67.8 million from state HIV programs—and his request for an additional $12.3 in budget cuts to California’s AIDS drug assistance program (ADAP)—AIDS activists are mobilizing at the state’s Capitol on Friday, June 5, to urge the state legislature’s Budget Conference Committee to reject the proposed health cuts, according to the Bay Area Reporter.

The budget cuts are the latest effort to remedy the state’s $24 billion deficit, and they will affect HIV programs ranging from housing and medical treatment to drug access and prevention services.

“My message to people is that they must be politically engaged,” said AIDS Housing Alliance founder and director Brian Basinger. “I am concerned about the impact on our most vulnerable people. I want to make sure organizations do not go under water and are put at risk. I want to make sure they are looking at budget cuts from the client level as well.”

According to the article, the full Senate and Assembly are expected to implement the revised budget in mid-June.