California Budget

Higher Education

Gavin Newsom and the Legislature are far apart on college spending as budget deadline nears

Gov. Newsom’s latest budget proposal cuts the Middle Class Scholarship to $100 million. The Legislature wants to provide more than $900 million for it.

By

Mikhail Zinshteyn

• June 17, 2024

An inmate at San Quentin State Prison on March 17, 2023. Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters

Commentary

If California opts for smaller changes to prisons, rehabilitation must remain a priority

Instead of closing prisons to help close a budget deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to close 46 total housing blocks. The cost of housing inmates will keep growing unless access to rehabilitation programs improves.

By Steve Brooks • June 14, 2024

Owner Lina Mills speaks with customers outside of Creative Ideas Catering in San Francisco on June 11, 2024. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget would cut more than half of the funding of the state's Small Business Technical Assistance Program, which benefits small businesses like Creative Ideas Catering. Photo by Juliana Yamada for CalMatters

Economy

‘Wouldn’t be where I am today:’ California’s small business owners fight to save state aid

A program that helps small businesses is just one of the proposed budget cuts on which California’s governor and Legislature disagree.

By

Levi Sumagaysay

• June 14, 2024

Capitol

Gavin Newsom and top Democrats are deciding California’s budget behind closed doors

The Legislature passes a placeholder state budget, but must still negotiate with Gov. Newsom on the final deal. How the state spends taxpayer money is largely being decided out of public view.

By

Alexei Koseff

• June 13, 2024

San Diego’s Lake Hodges Dam under repair in fall of 2022. The dam is expected to be replaced in the next decade. The dam, built as a multiple arch design, was completed in 1918, and purchased by the City of San Diego in 1925. Photo courtesy of John Gastaldo

Water

These 42 California dams need repairs. But lawmakers cut the funds in half

The dam repairs would store more water and protect the public, but legislators and the governor, facing a huge deficit, cut $50 million.

By

Rachel Becker

• June 13, 2024

Assembly Republicans convene during session at the state Capitol in Sacramento on July 13, 2023. Photo by Rahul Lal for CalMatters

Commentary

California’s budget charade reflects a 15-year-long conflict over the process

The June 15 constitutional deadline for California lawmakers to pass the budget may seem like a critical date, but 15 years after a series of changes, the process has become a bit of a charade.

By

Dan Walters

• June 13, 2024

An unhoused encampment on a sidewalk in Downtown Los Angeles on Feb. 18, 2023. Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters

Commentary

California homelessness funding is on the chopping block. Will it make the final budget?

A yearly billion-dollar grant to California's local governments to help battle homelessness is up in the air as Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders work on a state budget.

By

Dan Walters

• June 5, 2024

Kindergarten students during a hip hop dance class taught by Luis Sanchez at Radcliff Elementary School in Watsonville on May 21, 2024. Photo by Laure Andrillon for CalMatters

K-12 Education

California spent nearly $1 billion to boost arts education. Are schools misspending it?

Voters passed Proposition 28 to expand arts education in California schools. Some are planning to pay for existing positions, which backers of the initiative say violates its intent.

By

Carolyn Jones

• May 31, 2024

Capitol

Legislative leaders counter on California budget deficit

Facing a deadline next month, top Democrats release their counter proposal to Gov. Newsom's May budget plan. They push back on some cuts that Newsom is seeking.

By

Alexei Koseff

• May 29, 2024

Commentary

The ‘rainy day’ is here for California schools. It could be much worse if it wasn’t for Jerry Brown

Former Gov. Jerry Brown's commitment to shoring up the state's rainy day reserves, particularly for K-12 education, is helping schools avoid more significant cuts as California addresses a massive deficit.

By Louis Freedberg • May 29, 2024