SACRAMENTO \u2014 On Thursday, Senate President pro Tempore Monique Lim\u00f3n and Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas and announced a 2026-27 budget agreement.<\/p>\n
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With the passage of H.R.1, critical safety net programs are on the verge of losing billions annually. While the state cannot backfill all lost federal funding the Senate and the Assembly are delivering a responsible, compassionate budget that protects the services people rely on the most.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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This budget also builds a foundation for the future by:<\/p>\n
\u25cf Prioritizing new revenue to preserve human services and programs without new taxes on families or small businesses<\/p>\n
\u25cf Investing in housing opportunity and affordability<\/p>\n
\u25cf Sustaining our commitment to funding for schools and classrooms, wildfire prevention, and crime victims<\/p>\n
\u25cf Setting-aside billions in reserves for a rainy day<\/p>\n
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The Senate and the Assembly intend to keep delaying, softening, or eliminating some of the more harmful proposed cuts brought about by the Trump administration, as budget conditions allow.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe two-party agreement represents the California State Senate’s commitment to fight for services essential to the Golden State, including healthcare, childcare, and the long-term fiscal health of our state. The Legislature looks to stop drastic cuts to safety net programs that millions of Californians rely on to make ends meet. The Legislature also continues to make responsible budget decisions for the future by laying the groundwork for the Fair Share from Big Corporations Act. Thank you to our partners in the Assembly, including Speaker Robert Rivas, \u00a0for their work on this plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Senate President pro Tempore Monique Lim\u00f3n<\/p>\n
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\u201cTrump\u2019s agenda is failing, prices are rising, and his cuts are gutting the programs working families rely on most. This budget fights back: protecting health care and food programs, investing in affordable housing, and banking billions in reserves for whatever comes next. We\u2019re not waiting for Washington to get its act together. California is ready \u2014 and California won\u2019t back down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas<\/p>\n
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WHAT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES ARE SAYING <\/p>\n
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\u201cThe Senate and Assembly budget agreement reflects a balanced approach to addressing the state\u2019s budget challenges. The agreement includes approximately $5 billion in additional revenues, balances the budget through the next two fiscal years, cuts the structural deficit in half, maintains strong reserves, and makes progress on Rainy Day Fund reforms. It also rejects proposed cuts to In-Home Supportive Services, rejects the proposed Medi-Cal asset test, and delays pending health care reductions that would have significant impacts on seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income Californians. The agreement also provides funding for additional childcare slots, courthouse maintenance and construction, new judgeships, and important local, regional, and program priorities. There are still unresolved issues, but the Senate will continue working with the Assembly and Governor to finalize a budget that protects Californians, supports working families, and maintains long-term fiscal stability.\u201d<\/p>\n
Senator John Laird, Chair of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee<\/p>\n
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\u00a0\u201cWhile the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans continue to make life harder for working families, the Legislature is fighting for a budget that is rooted in compassion and opportunity for all. Our legislative budget agreement prioritizes health care, housing, affordability, and critical safety net programs that our most vulnerable communities rely on. At the same time, we are also committed to fiscal discipline and preparing California to weather future challenges. I\u2019m grateful to Speaker Rivas, Pro Tem Lim\u00f3n, and our legislative partners for working together on a budget that reflects our values and will deliver for California families.\u201d<\/p>\n
Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Budget<\/p>\n
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TK DELIVERABLES<\/p>\n
The following is an overview of the 2026-27 budget:<\/p>\n
Health<\/p>\n
\u25cf Rejects immediate Medi-Cal asset limit cuts: There is no change to the asset test in 2026-27, and the asset limit would be lowered to $21,000 in 2027-28, instead of moving to the Governor\u2019s proposed $2,000 limit now.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Delays immediate Medi-Cal dental cuts: Delays dental supplemental payment cuts and UIS dental cuts by 12 months.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Prevents an automatic UIS premium increase next year: Gives the next Governor authority to decide whether UIS premiums should increase next year, rather than locking in the increase now.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Delays restricted-scope Medi-Cal changes for asylees and other qualified immigrants: Adopts the Governor\u2019s May Revision proposal to shift asylees and other impacted qualified immigrants to restricted-scope Medi-Cal, but not until 2027-28.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Funds Medi-Cal eligibility workload: The agreement provides additional funding for county eligibility workload tied to H.R. 1.<\/p>\n
\u25cf UIS fee-for-service options: Gives the state time to investigate alternatives before moving forward with the UIS fee-for-service transition.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Delays most clinic cuts: Delays most clinic cuts by 12 months, giving providers and patients additional time.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Supports distressed hospitals: Authorizes up to $190 million in distressed hospital loans<\/p>\n
\u25cf Lowers Covered California premiums: Provides $110 million to lower premiums for low-income Covered California enrollees, for a total of $300 million<\/p>\n
\u25cf Protects reproductive health care and gender-affirming care: Adds $40 million for reproductive health care and $26 million for gender-affirming care.<\/p>\n
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Human Services & Safety Net<\/p>\n
\u25cf Rejects IHSS cuts: The agreement fully rejects the Governor\u2019s proposed IHSS cuts, protecting seniors and people with disabilities who rely on in-home care.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Supports food banks: $100 million for CalFood, including $70 million above the Governor\u2019s proposal, to help keep food banks stocked.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Funds CalFresh eligibility workload: The agreement provides additional funding for county eligibility workload tied to H.R. 1.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Rejects Adult Protective Services cuts: Rejects the Governor\u2019s proposed cut to Adult Protective Services.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Protects immigrant communities: $80 million more than the Governor for immigration legal services across several programs.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Supports diaper banks: $16.5 million for diaper banks.<\/p>\n
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Housing & Homelessness<\/p>\n
\u25cf Invests in homelessness solutions: Provides $900 million for HHAP, the state\u2019s local homelessness program, which is $400 million more than the Governor proposed.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Builds affordable housing: Provides $500 million for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Supports multifamily housing: Provides $200 million for the Multifamily Housing Program.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Keeps housing bond work moving: Anticipates a November 2026 housing bond to build more affordable homes faster and improve housing opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Keeps families housed: $100 million for housing stability programs.<\/p>\n
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Schools & Child Care<\/p>\n
\u25cf Delivers higher Prop. 98 funding and a payback commitment: Compared to the Governor\u2019s May Revision, the agreement provides roughly $2.7 billion more for schools and community colleges across 2025-26 and 2026-27, while committing to a reliable schedule to pay districts the $3.9 billion omitted from the May Revision.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Invests in special education: Increases special education base rates and cost pools by $2.4 billion ongoing.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Expands community schools: Expands the Community Schools Partnership Program with $1 billion ongoing, including partnerships with Promise Neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Invests in career technical education: $300 million one-time for career technical education.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Supports teacher recruitment and retention: $750 million for teacher recruitment and retention strategies.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Supports paid pregnancy leave for educators: Funds and requires up to 14 weeks of paid pregnancy leave for educators through LCFF.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Supports community colleges: Ensures more ongoing funding for community college enrollment growth through a fair share of Prop. 98.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Protects UC and CSU: Protects funding for the University of California and California State University.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Expands Cal Grant access: Increases the Cal Grant age limit to 30.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Expands child care access: Adds 22,770 new child care slots, with a priority for children ages 0-3, and protects 6,800 existing slots from the Governor\u2019s proposed reduction.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Supports child care providers: Provides a 2 percent COLA for all child care programs.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Protects preschool access: Maintains access growth for 3-year-olds to preschool.<\/p>\n
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Public Safety<\/p>\n
\u25cf Responsibly implements Prop. 36: Provides around $375 million for Prop. 36 implementation, including court workload, substance use and mental health treatment, victims support, rehabilitation and pretrial services, in addition to last year\u2019s $300+ million investment.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Supports victims of crime: $50 million for VOCA funding, up from $25 million in the May Revision.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Protects communities from hate violence: $80 million ongoing for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Avoids unnecessary prison spending: Assumes an additional prison closure, generating $150 million in ongoing savings, and rejects costly corrections increases that are not needed to protect public safety.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Supports MMIP grants: $15 million ongoing for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People grants.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Supports CASA: $20 million for the CASA Program.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Combats human trafficking: $10 million for human trafficking vertical prosecution grants and $10 million for victims programs.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Funds the RIGHT Grant: $20 million for the RIGHT Grant.<\/p>\n
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Wildfires and Climate<\/p>\n
\u25cf Funds CalFire through GGRF: AB 109 provides proposed GGRF funding to CalFire, while several other GGRF and Proposition 4 decisions remain in later negotiations. Several major climate and wildfire funding decisions are still moving through later negotiations, including GGRF and Proposition 4 bond appropriations. The budget agreement protects wildfire prevention funds that are continuously appropriated by statute.<\/p>\n
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Reserves<\/p>\n
\u25cf Rainy Day Fund Reform: Advances a constitutional amendment that empowers voters to increase California\u2019s ability to build reserves in good years, so the state is better prepared to protect schools, health care and safety-net programs when revenues decline.<\/p>\n
\u25cf Main Rainy Day Fund: Investing billions in reserves to make sure Californians have a fiscal backstop for future uncertainty brought about by the Trump administration.<\/p>\n
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Responsible Revenue to Protect Californians from Trump Administration Cuts<\/p>\n
\u25cf The Senate and Assembly plan assumes the Governor\u2019s revenue proposals for a large corporation tax credit limitation, digital software sales tax changes, and extending and updating an existing tax on health care plans to preserve Medi-Cal funding in light of new federal requirements.<\/p>\n
\u25cf The agreement enacts the Fair Share from Big Corporations Act to set the stage to hold big corporations accountable for taxpayer subsidies. Under the program, the administration will be required to present fully viable options to the Legislature for holding big corporations accountable for their employees\u2019 health care costs by April 1, 2027. The options will be considered next year. Implementing any option will require subsequent legislation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SACRAMENTO \u2014 On Thursday, Senate President pro Tempore Monique Lim\u00f3n and Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357211,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8],"class_list":["post-357210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357210\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}