Newsom, legislators seek deal on budget
Even with the process controlled entirely by Democrats, a certain degree of tension is wired into the annual ritual of crafting a state budget in Sacramento. The spending plan, after all, is a powerful opportunity for the governor and each house of the Legislature to demonstrate their priorities in caring for 40 million Californians.
So despite lots of common ground on the upcoming budget, some key disagreements have surfaced as legislative leaders and Gov. Gavin Newsom hammer out a final deal in advance of a June 15 deadline. What is different this time: The two sides are negotiating amid a bleak economic scenario, with surging unemployment, greater demand for government services and a deficit that could be as large as $54 billion. And that, undoubtedly, amps up the stress in their private debates.
“When you are negotiating how to cut up the pie, that is the easiest form of negotiation — particularly when you have a Democratic legislature and a Democratic governor,” said Fabian Núñez, a former Assembly speaker who negotiated five budgets with then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“The challenge is how to make cuts when you don’t have the funds to balance the budget… You could be from the same political party, but the priorities may or may not be the same.”
The fault lines this year show the Legislature and governor at odds over how to manage spending on the coronavirus pandemic, how far the state should go to help undocumented immigrants, and how much to cut schools and safety net programs if the federal government does not come through with additional aid.
While Newsom proposed slashing $14 billion from schools, health care and safety net programs unless the federal government sends funds by July 1, the Legislature’s proposal assumes federal funding will arrive — and if it doesn’t come by Oct. 1, limits cuts to $7 billion by drawing on reserves.
Legislators had made clear in recent weeks that they disliked the way Newsom tied so many cuts to action in Washington, with one Democrat saying the governor’s proposal amounted to “an overdependence on the federal government with an unpredictable administration.”
Lawmakers also blasted Newsom’s administration at a series of recent hearings for leaving them out of the loop on key decisions related to the state’s pandemic response.
The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst urged the Legislature to “jealously guard its constitutional role and authority,” so it’s little surprise that lawmakers rejected Newsom’s proposal to give the governor executive power to spend another $2.8 billion related to the coronavirus emergency. Instead, the Legislature’s plan would involve lawmakers in those spending decisions, at least through Aug. 31.
“We anticipate this will be part of our budget discussions,” said Assemblyman Phil Ting, a San Francisco Democrat who chairs the budget committee.
“We are ready to discuss how we can give the governor the proper authority so that he can watch over the state during this COVID-19 pandemic, but at the same time ensure that there’s proper transparency and proper oversight.”