Gavin Newsom

As both governor and a likely presidential candidate, Gavin Newsom's final state budget faces a political trap of his own making.

With a dead-on-arrival budget draft, deep differences over revenues, chronic deficits and pressure to offset cuts in federal aid, it’s hard to even find a starting point.

The Newsom administration once overstated income by $165 billion over four years. Now Newsom has announced $42 billion in new revenues over three years.

The governor’s 2026-27 budget proposal projects $9 billion more in revenue than anticipated, banking on the AI-driven economy to last.

Newsom proposed shifting oversight of the Department of Education from the superintendent to the State Board of Education. The move would concentrate more power over K-12 schools with the governor, who appoints the school board.

Newsom denounced Trump's cutbacks in federal child care funds and his refusal to send relief funds after the wildfires in Los Angeles County.

Newsom touted a 9% reduction in unsheltered homelessness, but lawmakers were restrained in their responses to him claiming success on the issue.

The move is intended to simplify California’s convoluted education governance, which policy analysts have said can be inefficient, redundant and sometimes at cross purposes.

Gov. Gavin Newsom will propose regulating corporate landlords during his State of the State address Thursday, his office said. It’s a pivot toward populism for the governor.

Most people who lost homes to the LA-area wildfires haven’t broken ground or found new homes. State and local officials are part of the delay.