January 11, 2018
On January 10th, Governor Brown unveiled his $132 billion budget proposal for FY18/19. As predicted, he is using the surplus dollars from another good budgetary year to shore up the Rainy Day Fund, putting aside $3.5 billion to meet statutory requirements. By June 2019, that fund is expected to have 13.5 billion in reserve dollars should another recession hit. The budget increases education spending and proposed additional accountability measures, as well as outlines spending for SB 1 (commonly referred to as the “gas tax” bill) in a variety of areas. The Governor will now begin discussions with legislative leadership prior to unveiling the May Revise.