Image courtesy of http://calbudgetcenter.org/
Governor Brown and the California legislature approved a $122.5 billion budget to fund state operations for 2016-17. The budget allocates $400 million for affordable housing construction, increases preschool/child care funding by $500 million, increases reserves by $2 billion, invests $200 million in college readiness programs, and redirects $2 billion in Proposition 63 mental health funds to provide housing for mentally ill homeless people.
Putting an extra $2 billion into the rainy day fund suggests that state lawmakers are weary about a looming recession. There was a notable focus on alleviating poverty and income inequality in this year’s budget process. Brown and lawmakers failed to agree on a spending plan from the state’s greenhouse gas reduction fund, also known as the cap-and-trade fund, and failed to reach a deal on funding to fix crumbling roads and highways, which they have labeled as a top priority for several years.
To learn more about how the state budget impacts your local community and how you can make the most of it, contact RSG.
Written by Jeff Khau, a Senior Analyst at RSG