California Democratic leaders, including Governor Gavin Newsom and state legislators, have reached an agreement on a fiscal strategy aimed at addressing the state's significant budget shortfall. The plan involves a combination of spending cuts, delays, and deferrals, totaling approximately $17.3 billion in reductions. This move comes as part of an early action plan to tackle the deficit, with the California Assembly's Budget hearing marking the beginning of discussions on the agreement. Despite the Department of Finance's brief opening remarks and inability to address questions about the long-term cost to taxpayers, particularly concerning a proposed $1.4B borrowing, the legislature has forwarded the budget package to the governor. The plan, however, has faced criticism for its reliance on what some call 'gimmicks', including internal borrowing tricks, to achieve the deficit reduction. Critics, including some Republicans, argue that while the plan may provide short-term relief, it falls short of addressing the underlying fiscal challenges facing California.
California lawmakers on Thursday approved a series of spending cuts and internal borrowing tricks designed to reduce the state budget deficit by about $17 billion. And it won’t be enough. https://t.co/M0zXwZh00W
California lawmakers don't know for sure how big their budget deficit is, but they decided it's big enough to go ahead and reduce spending by about $17 billion. https://t.co/7PRkbYb479
California lawmakers vote to reduce deficit by $17 billion, but harder choices lie ahead https://t.co/bj1wYYMjNt https://t.co/ZV0J52zyYi
California lawmakers vote for $17B deficit reduction plan https://t.co/chks0j80MN
California lawmakers don't know for sure how big their budget deficit is, but on Thursday they decided it's big enough to go ahead and reduce spending by about $17 billion. https://t.co/2OsjtVVE3N
California lawmakers on Thursday approved a series of spending cuts and internal borrowing tricks designed to reduce the state budget deficit by about $17 billion. And it won’t be enough. https://t.co/VqSK76QxEW
Newsom called it a 'gimmick.' Now he’s using the trick to lower California’s massive deficit https://t.co/Jx0B71bYay
Newsom called it a 'gimmick.' Now he's using the trick to lower California's massive deficit https://t.co/yQFYbFakHl
Legislature sends early action budget package, to shrink deficit by $17 billion, to governor this morning. While Republicans criticize plan as gimmicky, @AsmJesseGabriel said it "will provide us momentum and allow us to focus on the most critical issues." https://t.co/IfT09tmJYp
California lawmakers plan Thursday to approve a series of spending cuts and internal borrowing tricks designed to reduce the state budget deficit by about $17 billion. And it won’t be enough. https://t.co/Bb4wLbc0Sa
California lawmakers plan Thursday to approve a series of spending cuts and internal borrowing tricks designed to reduce the state budget deficit by about $17 billion. https://t.co/z36NVNKDf5
📻 Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic leaders in the state legislature announced a deal on early action to shrink California's budget shortfall by $17 billion. Listen to @akoseff on @CapRadioInsight explain the “early action plan” to tackle this deficit. https://t.co/4VlVpTxQpn
An interesting start to the CA Assembly’s Budget hearing on the Dem agreement to put a $17B dent in state’s deficit. Very brief opening remarks from Newsom’s Dept. of Finance, DOF unable to answer first question on the ultimate cost to taxpayers by borrowing $1.4B for this.
Newsom, Democratic Lawmakers Agree on Plan to Cut California’s Budget by $17 Billion #California https://t.co/6XGOhsF95K
California Democratic leaders announced last week they had agreed on a plan that would reduce the state’s multibillion-dollar shortfall by $17.3 billion through a combination of spending cuts, delays and deferrals. https://t.co/ye0lx7swgO