On May 14th, finance letter proposals were submitted by the Administration to the chairpersons of the budget committees in each house. These proposals provided additional insight and detail into Governor Newsom's 2024 May Revision released on Friday, May 10, 2024 (View the RCRC Rural Rundown). See highlights from those finance letters that may be of interest to rural counties here.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, the Legislature released their proposed joint budget plan. Short summaries of the proposal are available on the Senate and Assembly Budget committee websites (Senate | Assembly). The Joint Legislative proposal rejects some of the major spending cuts proposed in the Governor’s May Revise, including those affecting public health programs, subsidized childcare slots and housing development, while recommending more substantial cuts to prison funding. It does align with the Governor’s recommendation to minimize the use of reserve accounts next year, recognizing that California likely will experience a revenue shortfall for the next two to three years.
The Legislature must pass a balanced budget bill on or before June 15. The Governor has until June 27th to sign or reject the proposal. Trailer bills will be released over the next weeks to implement the necessary statutory changes.