Gavin -that idiot- Newsom
2024-06-14 12:00:28 UTC
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) â The California Legislature on Thursday rejected
many of Gov. Gavin Newsomâs most difficult budget cuts, choosing instead to
speed-up a temporary tax increase on some businesses to help address an
estimated $45 billion deficit while preserving spending on many social
safety net programs.
The budget lawmakers approved is not the stateâs final spending plan. Newsom
and legislative leaders are still negotiating how to fix the shortfall
before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1. But lawmakers had to pass
a balanced budget by Saturday or else they would forfeit their six-figure
salaries â a rule voters approved in 2010 to prevent the types of budget
stalemates that had delayed negotiations in the past.
That is why Thursdayâs vote was not really a public rebuke of Newsom, a
Democrat who for the most part has had a good relationship with a
Legislature dominated by members of his own party. Instead, the vote
highlights the differences between Newsom, a second-term governor who many
believe holds presidential aspirations, and a liberal state Legislature that
is often more willing to take risks.
While Newsomâs budget proposal preserved most of the stateâs major
assistance programs, he included a number of smaller cuts that angered his
Democratic allies. He proposed to stop paying for in-home caretakers for
some disabled immigrants on Medicaid. He wants to eliminate a program that
helps provide housing for families with incomes less than $13,000 per year.
And he suggested delaying a rate increase for organizations that care for
people with intellectual disabilities.
To reject these cuts, lawmakers needed to find more money. They found it by
taking one of Newsomâs ideas and making it happen faster.
Newsom proposed temporarily stopping some businesses from deducting
financial losses from their state taxable income, thus increasing their tax
bill. It has become a common way to increase revenue during budget
shortfalls. The Legislature chose to do this, too, but their plan would
start the tax increase one year earlier. That generated an extra $5 billion
in revenue compared with Newsomâs plan.
Lawmakers also found large budget cuts in other places. They want to cut $1
billion out of the stateâs prison budget, arguing the money isnât needed now
that the prison population is about half of what it was two decades ago. And
they want to cancel a $400 million loan to PG&E that would help extend the
life of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.
Those are just some of the disagreements that the Newsom administration and
lawmakers must resolve by the end of the month. On Thursday, both sides
indicated they have made good progress. Senate President Pro Tempore Mike
McGuire said lawmakers could be voting on a final budget deal by the end of
next week.
âI firmly believe the final budget that weâre going to have in front of us
here next week will follow the same framework thatâs in front of this body
here today,â he said.
One major issue that has yet to be addressed by either side is what to do
about a minimum wage increase for health care workers that is scheduled to
start on July 1. Newsom signed a law last year that would eventually raise
health care workersâ minimum wage to $25 per hour over the next decade.
The wage increase is expected to cost the state hundreds of millions of
dollars in increased wages for some state workers and increased payments in
the stateâs Medicaid program, according to an analysis by the University of
California-Berkeley Labor Center. Newsom has said he wants to delay the
minimum wage increase, but he so far has been unable to get an agreement
from the state Legislature.
Republicans, who donât have enough numbers to sway policy decisions and say
they were left out of the budget negotiations with Democrats, criticized the
Legislatureâs spending plan as unsustainable.
Republican Assemblymember Heath Flora said raising taxes on businesses to
help close the deficit would be âan economy killer,â adding âour citizens
are not here to provide overdraft protections.â
âWe canât continue to make up the lie that tax increases are a solution to
bad management,â he said.
Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener defended the tax proposal, noting it was
just seven years ago that Congress slashed the federal corporate tax rate by
40%.
âAll we are asking here during a difficult budget year is to be part of the
solution,â Wiener said. âThis is a very reasonable approach.â
https://apnews.com/article/california-legislature-budget-gov-gavin-newsom-
d0ecb7821c2fb5a02ab46cb1bad6bd8c
many of Gov. Gavin Newsomâs most difficult budget cuts, choosing instead to
speed-up a temporary tax increase on some businesses to help address an
estimated $45 billion deficit while preserving spending on many social
safety net programs.
The budget lawmakers approved is not the stateâs final spending plan. Newsom
and legislative leaders are still negotiating how to fix the shortfall
before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1. But lawmakers had to pass
a balanced budget by Saturday or else they would forfeit their six-figure
salaries â a rule voters approved in 2010 to prevent the types of budget
stalemates that had delayed negotiations in the past.
That is why Thursdayâs vote was not really a public rebuke of Newsom, a
Democrat who for the most part has had a good relationship with a
Legislature dominated by members of his own party. Instead, the vote
highlights the differences between Newsom, a second-term governor who many
believe holds presidential aspirations, and a liberal state Legislature that
is often more willing to take risks.
While Newsomâs budget proposal preserved most of the stateâs major
assistance programs, he included a number of smaller cuts that angered his
Democratic allies. He proposed to stop paying for in-home caretakers for
some disabled immigrants on Medicaid. He wants to eliminate a program that
helps provide housing for families with incomes less than $13,000 per year.
And he suggested delaying a rate increase for organizations that care for
people with intellectual disabilities.
To reject these cuts, lawmakers needed to find more money. They found it by
taking one of Newsomâs ideas and making it happen faster.
Newsom proposed temporarily stopping some businesses from deducting
financial losses from their state taxable income, thus increasing their tax
bill. It has become a common way to increase revenue during budget
shortfalls. The Legislature chose to do this, too, but their plan would
start the tax increase one year earlier. That generated an extra $5 billion
in revenue compared with Newsomâs plan.
Lawmakers also found large budget cuts in other places. They want to cut $1
billion out of the stateâs prison budget, arguing the money isnât needed now
that the prison population is about half of what it was two decades ago. And
they want to cancel a $400 million loan to PG&E that would help extend the
life of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.
Those are just some of the disagreements that the Newsom administration and
lawmakers must resolve by the end of the month. On Thursday, both sides
indicated they have made good progress. Senate President Pro Tempore Mike
McGuire said lawmakers could be voting on a final budget deal by the end of
next week.
âI firmly believe the final budget that weâre going to have in front of us
here next week will follow the same framework thatâs in front of this body
here today,â he said.
One major issue that has yet to be addressed by either side is what to do
about a minimum wage increase for health care workers that is scheduled to
start on July 1. Newsom signed a law last year that would eventually raise
health care workersâ minimum wage to $25 per hour over the next decade.
The wage increase is expected to cost the state hundreds of millions of
dollars in increased wages for some state workers and increased payments in
the stateâs Medicaid program, according to an analysis by the University of
California-Berkeley Labor Center. Newsom has said he wants to delay the
minimum wage increase, but he so far has been unable to get an agreement
from the state Legislature.
Republicans, who donât have enough numbers to sway policy decisions and say
they were left out of the budget negotiations with Democrats, criticized the
Legislatureâs spending plan as unsustainable.
Republican Assemblymember Heath Flora said raising taxes on businesses to
help close the deficit would be âan economy killer,â adding âour citizens
are not here to provide overdraft protections.â
âWe canât continue to make up the lie that tax increases are a solution to
bad management,â he said.
Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener defended the tax proposal, noting it was
just seven years ago that Congress slashed the federal corporate tax rate by
40%.
âAll we are asking here during a difficult budget year is to be part of the
solution,â Wiener said. âThis is a very reasonable approach.â
https://apnews.com/article/california-legislature-budget-gov-gavin-newsom-
d0ecb7821c2fb5a02ab46cb1bad6bd8c