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The Legislature is expected to pass a state budget today to fulfill its state constitutional obligation and continue to receive payments. But the final spending plan, which 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 Yue Stella Yu of CalMatters explains, the $356 billion legislative budget plan differs from Newsom’s proposal in notable ways related to health care, education and homeless spending.
Both Republicans and Democrats, for example, reject Newsom’s proposed cuts to the domestic services program. Top Democratic lawmakers also want to delay for a year the governor’s health insurance restrictions for undocumented immigrants. And Newsom’s proposal to raise the monthly Medi-Cal premium that undocumented immigrants pay is a solution lawmakers are looking to push through to the next governor.
Democrats in the Legislature enjoy a supermajority and do not need the support of the Republican Party.
- State Senator John LairdSanta Cruz Democrat and chairman of the budget committee: “I don’t think it’s about Gavin Newsom. It’s really about trying to stretch ourselves as much as we can in the hope that we don’t have to make these cuts.”
Education spending also remains unresolved: Instead of Newsom’s proposed reduction of 6,800 state-supported child care spots, Democratic lawmakers want to add 22,000 subsidized child care spots over the next few years. They also propose $2.7 billion more than Newsom to fund K-12 transitional schools and community colleges.
Lawmakers want to allocate $900 million to the state’s homeless fund, compared to Newsom’s $500 million. The Legislature would also give counties more money to conduct new federally required eligibility checks on Californians applying for food assistance and health benefits.
But there are some things the Legislature and Newsom agree on. Both want to set aside $300 million to subsidize private health care for low-income Californians, and lawmakers also support Newsom’s proposal for three new tax measures.
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Other stories you should know
The California Board of Revenue is racing to collect big bucks
Although the California Board of Equalization has been without much power since it was stripped of most of its responsibilities nearly a decade ago, primary races for membership on the nation’s only elected taxing board still ended in a tie in millions of dollars in campaign donationsCalMatters’ Kate Wolfe reports.
Influential lobbying groups and wealthy individuals contributed more than $3.3 million to the campaigns of three state lawmakers who ran for seats on the board and ultimately reached the November ballot: Assemblyman Mike Gipson and state senators Tom Umberg and Shannon Grove. Experts and donors say the donations were either from special interests seeking to influence lawmakers until the end 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 Democrat from Gardena. Umberg has raised tens of thousands of dollars from law firms and professional advocacy groups, which the Santa Ana Democrat typically fronts as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. And Grove, a Bakersfield Republican, brought in nearly $1.8 million from major donors, many of them Central Valley businesses and business owners.
CA Legislators Dispute With DMV
Speaking of the Assembly-Senate budget deal, lawmakers also want to holds $55 million in funding for the California Department of Motor Vehicles regarding concerns about potential deportations, write Khari Johnson and Wendy Fry.
The money is tied to a database that, starting early next year, will fulfill requests for information on California drivers as well as drivers from other states. Newsom’s office and the California DMV say the data sharing — which will be with a nonprofit agency made up of motor vehicle administrators across the country — is necessary to comply with the federal Real ID Act of 2005.
But immigration advocates worry that data sharing could leave undocumented Californians vulnerable to deportation if federal immigration agencies get hold of the information.
Some advocates conceded CalMatters reporting for bringing up the issue in April.
And finally: reducing the fight against golden clams
To the dismay of some experts, state water managers want to lift some protections intended to keep invasive golden mussels out of Butte County’s Lake Oroville, one of the state’s largest and most important reservoirs. Read more to find out why by Rachel Becker of CalMatters.
California voices
California lawmakers must pass a bill which would prohibit children under 16 from creating or maintaining social media accounts – thereby delaying their engagement with harmful products such as alcohol or firearms, writes Samuel ChapmanCEO of Parent Collective Inc.
Access to trusted local news is essential to a healthy democracy and the legislature should keep money in the budget for local and ethnic media, Martin Reynolds writesco-executive director of the Robert S. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education.
Some incarcerated people face a cycle of violence and sexual abuse by prison officials, with little hope of accountability, which is why California must prioritize the release of those victims who experience these dangers every day, Elizabeth Lozano writesexperienced sexual assault while in prison in California.
Other things worth your time:
Lawsuit filed by fired Yosemite ranger after hanging a giant transgender flag is rejected // KQED
Newsom was fined by the state watchdog for late reporting of $5.5 million in covenant payments related to the Los Angeles wildfires // The Mercury News
Rich Californians are finding creative ways to beat the tax billionaire // The Wall Street Journal
A case of measles in Santa Clara County when thousands gather for the World Cup // San Francisco Chronicle
Defenders worry about San Jose will fast track data centers // San Jose Spotlight
A year after ICE raids terrorized Los Angelesa shaken city counts its scars // The Guardian
No, Newsom didn’t just give $46 million to the Tijuana River // The Voice of San Diego
