Democratic lawmakers and governor. Gavin Newsom announced a budget deal Saturday to plug California’s projected nearly $45 billion deficit after weeks of disagreement over spending priorities.
Newsom and top legislative leaders announced a plan to fund a controversial state homelessness subsidy program, cut more from the state’s prison budget than the governor originally proposed, and delay the start of a minimum wage increase for health care workers to state, according to a legislative report obtained by The Sacramento Bee.
It is also filling the budget gap by cutting state operations by almost 8% and drawing on state reserves.
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, and Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, and Newsom — who drafted his own budget in January and a revised version in May — were far apart on a handful of key issues .
They also faced the large projected deficit, which made negotiations even more challenging.
The budget will provide for expenditure for the 2024-2025 financial year, which starts on July 1.
