Budget deal highlights

Key compromises in the state budget agreement reached by legislative leaders and Gov. Gavin Newsom:

►► No reductions to schools and safety net programs: Medi-Cal, the state’s health insurance for the poor, and other social services are spared from cuts. Schools and community colleges will retain their current funding levels, and receive about $5 billion in additional federal aid to help them safely reopen classrooms shuttered by the coronavirus pandemic. But $12 billion in funding will be deferred to future years — money that districts could borrow against or dip into their savings to cover, with the state promising to pay them back later.

►► The state is counting on federal aid: Cuts to universities, courts and housing programs take effect July 1, but officials will reverse them if Congress passes a relief package for states and local governments. The money would also be used to restore deferred school funding and reverse pay cuts for state workers.

►► Newsom could furlough public employees: The governor is looking to save about 10%, or nearly $3 billion, in compensation for California’s 234,000 state workers. The budget would give him authority to freeze pay raises and impose furloughs on bargaining units that do not negotiate an alternative with the state by July 1.

►► Health care for undocumented seniors is delayed: The budget does not expand Medi-Cal eligibility to undocumented immigrant seniors. The agreement does promise to do so at an unspecified point when funding is available.