SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to cut $6.1 billion from a variety of programs as part of next year's budget.
In his daily press briefing, Newsom said the budget prioritizes public education, public health, and public safety. His revised budget forecast estimates unemployment will climb to nearly 25 percent and tax revenues will drop by about a quarter.
Newsom plans to tap the state’s $16 billion rainy day fund over three years. After a record budget surplus that allows programs to grow, Newsom says it breaks his heart to have to make cuts.
Read Newsom’s revised 2020-2021 budget proposal below.
California’s budget hole, at more than $54 billion, is higher than the deficit during the Great Recession and obliterates the state’s once-healthy reserves.
State revenues have plummeted since the state has been under a mandatory stay-at-home order to stop the spread of the coronavirus. More than 4.5 million people have filed for unemployment benefits in California since mid-March.
At his press conference, Newsom laid out what’s on the chopping block, including 10% across-the-board cuts to all state workers, including for himself and other lawmakers.
Service Employees International Union 1000 President Yvonne Walker preempted the governor’s announcement earlier Thursday. In a video message to union members, Walker signaled that the union will head to the negotiating table to figure out a different solution.
“We could put our head in the sand and say, "let's take it." But you know what, Local 1000? We're not head-in-the-sand people. We're solution people. We figure things out. I have no doubt in my mind that together, we will figure this out. Yeah, there will be a little bit of pain. But not the same kind of pain that comes from a straight, across-the-board 10 percent cut,” Walker said.
Lawmakers will review Newsom's proposal. They must pass an operating budget by June 15. If they don’t, lawmakers would forfeit their pay. But lawmakers could amend the state spending plan after that date.
California lawmakers and lawmakers from the states in the Western State Pact are jointly requesting $1 trillion in aid from the federal government, Newsom announced at his daily coronavirus press briefing on Monday, May 11. The governor also said cuts could be reduced or eliminated completely if Congress passes the House’s $3-trillion Heroes Act stimulus proposal.
Read more from ABC10
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