SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California Gov. Jerry Brown released a revised budget proposal Thursday that reverses some of his proposed cuts to education and child care for the fiscal year that starts July 1. Here’s how lawmakers and interest groups are reacting:
- Assembly Minority Leader Chad Mayes, R-Yucca Valley: Brown’s budget improperly diverts tax increases intended to fund health and dental care into general state spending, Mayes said. “We’ve got to make sure that we provide access to health care here in California and that we don’t divert money into other pet projects for politicians,” the Yucca Valley Republican said.
- Sen. Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber: Nielsen said he was happy to see efforts in the budget to reduce California’s pension debt. But he said spending needs to be reined in to build up reserve funds so there is money to address crises like the damage to the Oroville Dam spillways this year. “California is still overspending,” Nielsen said. “There are no reforms noted here, how we’re going to get control over continued spending in government.”
- Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, chair of the Senate Budget Committee: “It’s certainly an improvement over the January proposal,” Mitchell said, adding she’s “thrilled” to see more funding for child care and education.
- Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, chair of the Assembly Budget Committee: “With Washington pursuing an agenda of self-sabotage, our budget must protect California and persist onward to a future with liberty, opportunity, and justice for all,” Ting said. “We differ with Gov. Brown on some key areas.”
- Susan Henry, president of the California School Boards Association: “We’re pleased with the increase in the local control spending formula,” Henry said, but she added that the budget still shortchanges schools.
- Rachel Linn Gish, spokeswoman for the left-leaning advocacy group Health Access: Revenue from California’s recently raised tobacco tax should be used to give more money to Medi-Cal and Denti-Cal, health and dental care programs for the state’s neediest residents, Gish said. “We need to make sure that we invest in Denti-Cal and on top of that expand health care access to those who are undocumented immigrants,” she said.
- Matt Cate, executive director of the California State Association of Counties: Cate applauded Brown’s decision to avoid shifting $600 million in costs to counties. “The changes… mean that for the next two years, counties will be able to avoid major cuts to critical programs and services that would have been devastated if the January budget had remained as it was,” he said.
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