Newsom’s 2024 Budget: Spending Realism Returns

Commentary Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new budget proposal released Jan. 10 actually keeps spending under control—if his assumptions continue and the Legislature doesn’t force increases. For fiscal year 2024-25, which begins on July 1, it would spend $209 billion in the general fund, down from $231 billion the previous years, a $22 billion cut. Those are the key numbers—but spending including all funds would be $291 billion. In Sacramento parlance, he uses a lot of “gimmicks” to shift funds around and achieve the balanced budget the California Constitution requires to be passed by June 15. The proposal is a working document used by his Department of Finance and the Legislative budget committees until his May Revision comes out in four months. Then there’s a sprint to the June 15 deadline, although sometimes that isn’t met....