California’s budget deficit has grown. Here’s Gov. Newsom's response - Los Angeles Times
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California’s budget deficit has grown. Here’s how Gov. Newsom is responding

A man in suit and tie, flanked by U.S. and California flags, speaks at a lectern with an official seal behind him
California Gov. Gavin Newsom unveils his revised 2024-25 state budget during a news conference in Sacramento on May 10, 2024.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)
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Good morning. It’s Tuesday, May 14. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

California’s budget deficit has grown. Here’s how Gov. Newsom is responding

Gov. Gavin Newsom released his revised $288-billion budget proposal last week, which included a bleak update on the state’s deficit: It has grown from earlier projections.

Back in January, state officials announced they were bracing for a $37.9-billion shortfall. Now that expected deficit stands just shy of $45 billion.

To address the gap, state officials aim to shrink California’s government. That includes “significant spending cuts” through reduced programs, a pause on many new investments and permanently eliminating about 10,000 vacant state jobs.

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The cuts hamper Newsom’s progressive policy agenda, The Times’ Taryn Luna, Mackenzie Mays and Anabel Sosa reported, in part by “pausing an expansion of subsidized childcare and cutting billions in funding for climate change programs.”

“The grim forecast was driven by lower than projected state revenues, continuing a pendulum swing from the fiscal boom of the COVID-19 pandemic,” they explained last week.

Which programs are facing cuts?

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Newsom is proposing one-time or ongoing reductions for 260 different government programs. This chart of proposed general fund expenditures shows deep cuts in almost every category. That includes:

  • Slashing $3.6 billion from programs related to fighting climate change
  • Cutting $2 billion over two years from a program to expand internet connectivity in underserved communities
  • Terminating the Foreclosure Intervention Housing Preservation Program by eliminating nearly $475 million in current and earlier proposed funding
  • Cutting $260 million from a round of Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention grant program funds, plus eliminating $325 million in current and earlier proposed funding for the Multifamily Housing Program
  • Eliminating $52.5 million in 2023-24 and $300 million in ongoing funding for state and local public health programs
  • Reducing $268.5 million over four years from the Department of Toxic Substances Control’s Cleanup in Vulnerable Communities Initiative Program
  • Cutting $399 million in Active Transportation funding through 2026-27

That totals $19.1 billion in cuts for one-time spending and $13.7 billion in cuts or for ongoing spending over the next two fiscal years (2024-25 and 2025-26).

“None of this is the kind of work you enjoy doing, but you’ve got to do it,” Newsom said Friday. “We have to be responsible. We have to be accountable.”

Newsom’s “unusual maneuver” for education funding could be a point of contention as the Legislature negotiates with him this summer.

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Taryn, Mackenzie and Anabel report that the governor is proposing a move to lower funding minimums for 2022-23 “to reflect the lower-than-expected state revenues that came in late last year.”

“The change could ultimately reduce funding for schools by tens of billions of dollars in future years and launch a monumental fight over education funding at the state Capitol,” my colleagues wrote.

An ‘incomplete’ plan and a Roman holiday

Back in January, Newsom said the “prime-time” event would come when he released his May revision. But Times reporters noted that the plan was “incomplete” when compared to revisions in prior years.

“The administration provided only a 50-page summary of his proposal, compared to the more detailed, 260-page document Newsom released in January,” they wrote.

Newsom was initially scheduled to present the revision today, but moved the event up to Friday so he could travel to Rome today, where he’s set to speak during a climate conference at the Vatican.

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Go here to read through Newsom’s thinner-than-usual May budget revision. More details on the revised budget are supposed to be available to the public today.

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For your downtime

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Dishes fly by at the Mid-City location of Sonoratown in Los Angeles.
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Going out

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And finally ... a great photo

Show us your favorite place in California! We’re running low on submissions. Send us photos that scream California and we may feature them in an edition of Essential California.

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A purplish pink and green sky illuminates a body of water
(Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu)

Today’s great photo is from Tayfun Coskun of the news agency Anadolu. Coskun caught this photo of the northern lights illuminating the sky of San Francisco‘s North Bay at China Camp Beach in San Rafael on May 11.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor and Saturday reporter
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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