Editorial note: Originally reported in the Barbed Wire as Assembly Bill 101, which was the Assembly version of the Budget Bill, it is Senate Bill 101 that has been enrolled to the Governor. References to the bill number throughout this article have been updated to reflect the correct measure.

On Thursday, June 15th, the state Budget Act, Senate Bill 101 (Skinner), was passed. Although the passage of SB 101 meets the constitutional deadline, ensuring that lawmakers will not see a break in their pay, there is more work to be done before the work on the 2023-24 budget is complete. Essentially, SB 101 is the framework of agreement between the Administration and Legislative Leaders while negotiations continue in order to address the outstanding issues including: streamlining the environmental review process for infrastructure projects; transit funding; childcare spending; and police misconduct records. 

As expected, the Legislature passed the bill along party lines Thursday morning, with Democrats supporting and Republicans opposing the measure 61-14 in the Assembly and 32-8 in the Senate. In recent years, it has become the norm for budget discussions to continue after the June 15 deadline. Although lawmakers must pass a budget bill by the deadline or face pay suspensions, the Governor has until June 30th to sign the measure before the state’s fiscal year begins on July 1, which gives the negotiators additional time to hammer out an agreement. 

Overall, the Legislature’s budget bill makes fewer cuts than proposed by the Governor, instead relying more on internal borrowing to make up for the deficit. The Legislative Analyst’s Office has pointed out that this approach raises the prospect of even larger deficits in future years. 

Among the adjustments included in SB 101: 

  • Cuts $600 million from a $900 million appropriated in last year’s budget to fund energy storage and solar projects for low and moderate-income households. 

  • Defers $575 million in Loan Loss Reserve funding and $550 in Federal Funding Account monies. 
     

Once the budget deal is complete, RCRC will provide a more comprehensive summary. For more information on the current legislative budget priorities, see the Assembly Budget Report and the Senate Budget Report. For questions, please contact Mary-Ann Warmerdam, RCRC’s Vice President of Government Affairs.