July 6, 2017
On June 15th, the state legislature adopted an on-time budget package of $183 billion – the largest budget in state history. . Particularly controversial was the inclusion of a massive overhaul of the Board of Equalization and rules changing the process of recall elections which were supported on party lines. Effective as of July 1, the plan resolves Proposition 56 (tobacco tax) revenue spending and increases education spending with K-12 including community colleges seeing an increase of about $3 billion. Also included in the budget was the expanse of the California Earned Income Tax Credit, with the goal of reaching about 1 million Californian families in 2018, and additional funding for infrastructure improvements per SB 1. Finally, the state will end FY2018 with a rainy day reserve of about $8 billion, as bolstering reserve funds has been a major sticking point in budget negotiations since Governor Brown has taken office.