The Legislature is expected to pass a state budget today to fulfill its state constitutional duty and to keep getting paid. But the final spending plan that will be approved by the start of the fiscal year on July 1 will almost certainly look different, as negotiations with Gov. Gavin Newsom continue.
As CalMatters’ Yue Stella Yu explains, the $356 billion legislative budget plan differs from Newsom’s proposal in notable ways related to health care, education and homelessness spending.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, for example, reject Newsom’s proposed cuts to the In-Home Supportive Services program. Top Democratic lawmakers also want to delay by a year the governor’s restrictions on healthcare coverage for undocumented immigrants. And Newsom’s proposal to raise the monthly Medi-Cal premium that undocumented immigrants pay is a decision lawmakers are aiming to push onto the next governor.
Democrats in the Legislature enjoy a supermajority and don’t need GOP support.
- State Sen. John Laird, a Santa Cruz Democrat and chairperson of the budget committee: “I don’t think it’s about Gavin Newsom. It’s really about trying to stretch as far as we can in the hope that we don’t have to make those cuts.”
Education spending remains unresolved as well: Instead of Newsom’s proposed reduction of 6,800 state-supported child care slots, Democratic lawmakers want to add 22,000 subsidized spaces for child care over the next few years. They’re also proposing $2.7 billion more than Newsom in funding for schools of transitional kindergarten to 12th grade and community colleges.
Lawmakers want to earmark $900 million for the state’s homelessness fund compared to Newsom’s $500 million. The Legislature would also give counties more money to conduct new federally required checks on eligibility for Californians applying for food assistance and health care benefits.
But there are some things the Legislature and Newsom agree on. They both want to set aside $300 million to subsidize private healthcare for low-income Californians, and lawmakers are also supportive of Newsom’s proposal of three new tax measures.
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Other Stories You Should Know
CA’s tax board races rake in big bucks
Though California’s Board of Equalization doesn’t have much authority since it was stripped of most responsibilities nearly a decade ago, the primary races to sit on the nation’s only elected tax board still drew in millions of dollars in campaign donations, reports CalMatters’ Kate Wolffe.
Powerful lobbying groups and wealthy individuals contributed over $3.3 million to the campaigns of three state lawmakers who ran for board seats and ultimately advanced to the November ballot: Assemblymember Mike Gipson and state Sens. Tom Umberg and Shannon Grove. Experts and donors say that donations were either from special interests that want to influence lawmakers for the remainder of the legislative session, or were rewards to lawmakers for supporting their causes.
Dozens of unions gave a total of nearly $300,000 to Gipson, a Gardena Democrat. Umberg collected tens of thousands of dollars from law firms and professional attorney groups, which the Santa Ana Democrat typically sides with as the chairperson of the Senate Judiciary Committee. And Grove, a Bakersfield Republican, brought in nearly $1.8 million from large donors, many of them businesses and business owners in the Central Valley.
CA lawmakers’ dispute with DMV
Speaking of the Assembly and Senate’s budget agreement, lawmakers also want to withhold $55 million in funding for the California Department of Motor Vehicles over concerns about potential deportations, write Khari Johnson and Wendy Fry.
The money is related to a database that, beginning early next year, would fulfill requests for information about California drivers, as well as drivers from other states. Newsom’s office and the California DMV say the data sharing — which would be with a nonprofit agency made up of motor vehicle administrators across the nation — is needed to comply with the federal Real ID Act of 2005.
But immigration advocates worry the data sharing could leave undocumented Californians vulnerable to deportation if federal immigration enforcement agencies get a hold of the information.
Some advocates credited CalMatters reporting for bringing the issue to light in April.
And lastly: Scaling back fight against golden mussels
To the alarm of some experts, state water managers want to lift some protections that aim to keep the invasive golden mussels out of Butte County’s Lake Oroville — one of the largest and most important reservoirs in the state. Read more to find out why by CalMatters’ Rachel Becker.
California Voices
California lawmakers should pass a bill that would prohibit children under 16 from creating or maintaining social media accounts — thus delaying their engagement with harmful products such as alcohol or firearms, writes Samuel Chapman, CEO of Parent Collective Inc.
Access to trustworthy local news is essential to a healthy democracy, and the Legislature must keep money in the budget for local and ethnic media, writes Martin Reynolds, co-executive director of the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education.
Some incarcerated people face a cycle of violence and sexual abuse from prison staff, with little hope for accountability, which is why California should prioritize releasing these victims who experience these dangers every day, writes Elizabeth Lozano, a survivor of sexual abuse while she was incarcerated in California.
Other things worth your time:
Lawsuit brought by Yosemite ranger fired after hanging a giant transgender flag is dismissed // KQED
Newsom fined by state watchdog for late reporting of $5.5M in behested payments tied to LA wildfires // The Mercury News
Rich Californians are finding creative ways to get ahead of the billionaire tax // The Wall Street Journal
Measles case in Santa Clara County as thousands gather for World Cup // San Francisco Chronicle
Advocates worry San Jose will fast track data centers // San José Spotlight
A year after ICE raids terrorized LA, a rattled city counts its scars // The Guardian
No, Newsom did not just give $46M to the Tijuana River // Voice of San Diego
