03/28/2024

Newsom seeks changes across government in first budget

Enjoying the tailwinds of a massive surplus and large Democratic supermajorities in both houses, Gov. Gavin Newsom is using his first budget proposal to put his policy stamp on nearly every sector of California government.

The Democratic governor described Thursday — in detail, for nearly two hours — how he would use his $209 billion spending plan to shape California’s future, focusing heavily on early childhood, housing and health care.

While Newsom used some of his estimated $21.4 billion surplus to lay the groundwork for future program expansion, he also directed much of it to pay off debts and reverse borrowing gimmicks from as far back as the Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger era during the worst of the recession, taking a page from famously frugal Gov. Jerry Brown’s playbook.

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