GOVERNOR HAS SIGNED CALIFORNIA BUDGET ... SORT OF

By Bob Walsh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Governor Newsom has signed the budget for the formerly great state of California for the fiscal year beginning on July 1.  However, his signature is conditional.  I confess I have never heard of this sort of thing before.

His signature is contingent on either AB131 or SB131 being passed on or before this coming Monday.  These bills make changes to the California Environmental Quality Act.  The law is 50 years old and requires an expensive and time consuming environmental impact report on pretty much any project in California that could reasonably be considered construction.  By time consuming I mean YEARS some times.  These delays and costs drive up the cost of housing (among other things) in CA substantially.  Much of the legislature does not want to go along unless the bills address more fully both labor standards (unionized labor guarantees) and affordable housing.

The CA budget for next year stands currently at $321 billion.  

The new budget does allow CA to tap into some cap-and-trade money to fund firefighting efforts, about $1 billion worth.  Also it increases the pay for inmate fire fighters, which is richly deserved.  They currently get from about $6 per day to about $10 per day.  

There WAS a provision in law that guaranteed $1 billion a year to the so-called High-Speed Rail Authority, thru 2045.  The current budget bill does NOT make that guarantee. 

The current budget does include $80 million to fund Proposition 36, which passed OVERWHELMINGLY in the state last year.  This includes about $50 million for more behavior health beds.  This is better than the governor's first proposal, which was zero, but is much less than the $400 million the district attorneys and sheriffs assert is needed in the first year.

The Film Tax Credit, to try to bring movie production back to California, has increased from $330 million to $750 million.

The new budget also includes $10 million to help illegal aliens fight deportation.

It isn't real clear yet how likely the legislature is to do what the governor demands.  Legislators as a group are not known for moral courage but they do know which side of their bread the butter goes.  We will know on Monday who wins.  It would be nice if it was the citizens and taxpayers of CA but I wouldn't count on that.