Surplus swells as Gov. Jerry Brown’s last budget grows to $199 billion

Gov. Jerry Brown is using a surging, $8.8 billion surplus in his 16th and final year leading the state to stash billions of dollars in reserves.

He released a final 2018-19 budget proposal that includes $137.6 billion in general fund spending and $199.3 billion in total spending.

Tax collections in California are coming in well ahead of expectations, giving Brown and the Legislature an additional $3.8 billion in revenue above what the governor projected when he released his initial budget proposal in January.