It’s a hellscape:
California likely will not have a budget deficit next year, but incoming President Donald Trump’s agenda portends an uncertain road ahead for California’s budget, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Monday.
The budget outlook Newsom describes is a major turnaround from the $47 billion deficit last year and the $32 billion shortfall the year before. Newsom and the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, which makes budget projections for the Legislature, both attribute the improvement to stock market gains by the state’s wealthiest taxpayers and cuts in previous years.
But, Newsom cautioned, the steep cuts to federal government spending that Trump has promised could darken the bright picture he painted of California’s economy. Newsom said the incoming president could impact California’s budget depending on how his trade, tariff and immigration policies play out. That happened last time Trump was in office, Newsom said.
“Even as we were working with the Trump administration, they were still assaulting our values and programs and hard-earned rights under the law,” Newsom said. “We should anticipate nothing less than that.”
His proposal would largely keep state spending consistent with what he and lawmakers agreed to last year, with some increases in a few areas.
[…]
Most urgently, Newsom is seeking $25 million in additional funding for Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office to defend the state’s laws in court against expected efforts by Trump to erode them. He called lawmakers into a special legislative session to approve the funding shortly after Trump was elected. They intend to act on the proposal before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
By the way, California gained population last year. Just saying.