#california-budget

#california-budget

Gov. Gavin Newsom's budget proposal includes no money for a fund formed last year to boost the state's local newsrooms, casting doubt on whether a heralded effort to help California journalists will amount to anything and how serious Newsom is about supporting the struggling industry. It's a significant walkback from an August 2024 deal between state leaders and Google in which they agreed to jointly spend $175 million over five years to fund local journalism.

California's proposed wealth tax is coming in for a lot of criticism these days. From Gov. Gavin Newsom, who counts many billionaires as friends and donors and yet was raised by a single mother juggling three jobs, to Anduril founder Palmer Luckey's vociferous objections, to the Google guys Larry Page and Sergey Brin voting with their feet, much of the Golden State's ultrawealthy is objecting to this policy. But what if the policy wouldn't even work that well, once implemented?

In December, President Donald Trump called Somali people "garbage." Weeks later, a YouTube influencer began surveilling Somali-run child care centers in Minnesota and making unverified claims of fraud. The San Diego Chapter of the United Domestic Workers of America said it's heard of at least seven incidents since Monday of strangers surveilling, harassing, and even stalking Somali child care providers - and the incidents are likely underreported.

The loss of the federal EV tax credits may have been a huge blow to prospective buyers, but California wants to fill that gap for its residents. Governor Gavin Newsom's proposed budget for 2026-2027, which was released on Friday, includes a "light-duty zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) incentive program" that details a one-time infusion of $200 million. According to the budget summary, this incentive program is "a critical part of the Administration's strategy to keep ZEVs affordable and accessible for all."

But the boom raises questions: Will it continue to be accompanied by a decline in tech and other jobs? Is it a bubble? RELATED: AI regulation battle looms in California despite Trump threats Tax revenue from stock-option withholding paid by some of the state's biggest tech companies made up about 10% of all income tax withholding in 2025, estimated Chas Alamo, the principal fiscal and policy analyst with the LAO.

Carin Lenk Sloane never considered moving abroad before, never imagined she even would. Sloane is one of roughly two million Californians who buy insurance through Covered California, the state's marketplace - and one of many who could see steep price hikes now that Congress has ended the shutdown without striking a deal on health care.

Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas emphasized that the budget protects California by cutting red tape for housing, preserving investments in health care, education, and public safety.

The agreement avoids higher levies on corporations and includes tax incentives for the film industry as well as cuts to some social programs.

The suspense files are where the appropriations committees send bills that would cost the state at least $50,000 in the Senate and $150,000 in the Assembly.

In this environment, California must lead. State leaders can do this by boosting revenue streams and making the tax system more fair.