State Budget

On June 13, the Legislature sent to the Governor its 2019-2020 budget bill (AB 74), two days before the June 15 constitutional deadline. The $215 billion budget follows nearly six months of budget hearings in the Legislature on the Governor’s budget that he proposed in January and his updated May Revise and final negotiations between the leaders of the two houses of the Legislature and the Governor.

The Budget Conference Committee is expected to meet the week of May 27. After the differences between the proposed budget of each house has been resolved, the Legislature will vote on the final budget bill and the accompanying trailer bills to implement the budget. June 15 is the constitutional deadline for the budget bill to be passed. The budget must be signed by the Governor by June 30.  DRC advocates on issues in the state budget that directly impact the lives and well-being of persons with disabilities.  We submit our positions to the Budget Conference Committee for consideration on select issues pending in the 2019-20 state budget that are important to our clients and should be funded.

Governor Newsom released his “May Revision” to the 2019-20 proposed budget on Thursday, May 9, 2019. The Governor and Legislature are expected to agree to a spending plan for the 2019-20 budget year before July 1. In laying out his May Revision, the Governor focused on making California an affordable place to live and to providing opportunities for children to thrive from cradle to career. He also pointed to the increased number of individuals experiencing homelessness across the state and the lack of adequate services for the mentally ill as points of urgency.

Governor Newsom released his 2019-20 proposed budget on January 10, stating that this budget is intended as a new beginning and a reanimation of the California Dream. This budget provides investments in critical programs for people with disabilities and those in poverty that have not been able so far to fully benefit from the accumulated budget surpluses.