Golden State Today

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon today issued the following statements announcing that they have reached an agreement on the 2023-24 state budget:

“In the face of continued global economic uncertainty, this budget increases our fiscal discipline by growing our budget reserves to a record $38 billion, while preserving historic investments in public education, health care, climate, and public safety,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “We’ve attached new accountability measures for transit and homelessness investments. And we are accelerating our global leadership on climate by fast-tracking the clean energy projects that will create cleaner air for generations to come. As we build the California of the future, we’re expanding our economy and embracing businesses that pave the way with new tax credits for businesses that manufacture computer chips, clean energy facilities, and more – projects that disproportionately benefit disadvantaged communities and create hundreds of thousands of jobs. I want to thank the Legislature for their hard work on a budget that prioritizes the needs of Californians while keeping the state on strong economic footing.”

“We started our budget process this time around with tough economic challenges, but one overarching goal: to protect California’s progress. This budget does exactly that — it allows us to close the budget gap, make targeted new investments, and provide services and resources for Californians and our communities without cuts to core programs or dipping into our reserves, and in fact builds those reserves,” said Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego). “In good years, we buckled down so that in tough years like this one, we could meet our needs. That pragmatic approach works for household budgeting, and it works for state budgeting. I’m also heartened that we were able to reach agreement on the infrastructure package, and in particular that we were able to do so in a way that focuses on equity by laying the groundwork to ensure that our most vulnerable communities will be hired first on impactful state infrastructure projects. I appreciate the partnership of Governor Newsom and Speaker Rendon, and the tireless work of our Legislative colleagues and staffs, including our budget chairs and subcommittee chairs, who have been working around the clock to get us across the finish line.”

“This is a budget for the future,” said Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood). “The Assembly has consistently fought for early childhood education and I’m proud that this budget includes up to $2.83 billion in one-time funds for child care reimbursement increases, all while protecting budget reserves of $37.8 billion. I want to thank the hard work of our Budget Committee members, our Senate partners, the Governor and the dedicated staff who worked countless hours to achieve this result.”

The agreement reached today includes support for the associated budget trailer and the following policy bills:

• AB 122 – Joshua Tree (Committee on Budget)
• AB 124 – Green Bank and Energy (Committee on Budget)
• AB 126 – Clean transportation (Reyes)
• SB 145 – Caltrans Advanced Mitigation and I-15 Wildlife Crossings (Newman)
• SB 146 – Progressive Design Build, Job Order Contracting, NEPA Assignment (Gonzalez and Friedman)
• SB 147 – Fully Protected Species (Ashby)
• SB 149 – Expedited Judicial Review, Administrative Record Reform (Caballero and Becker)
• SB 150 – Equity (Durazo, Smallwood Cuevas, Gonzalez, Cortese, and L. Rivas)

Original source can be found here.