The California Legislature on Thursday passed the 2023-24 budget, adhering to its constitutional deadline.
But it’s not a done deal. Negotiations between legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom are expected to continue until Newsom is bound by law to sign a budget for the start of the new fiscal year: July 1.
Like many other issues, Democrats and Republicans remain divided over the budget, which contains $311.7 billion in total spending, especially as California faces a nearly $32 billion deficit.
Assemblymember Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, who chairs the lower chamber’s Budget Committee, said the budget “protects the progress we’ve made on key priorities and increases funding for education, homeless programs, affordable housing, climate protection (and) childcare.”
But Assemblymember Diane Dixon, a Republican member who represents Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Laguna Hills, said it is “half-baked” and has a “handful of investments in good programs with a truckload of unrestrained program spending.”
Differences aside, a significant share of state spending flows to Southern California, according to legislative analyst Gabe Petek, where approximately 60% of the state’s population resides.
Here are some ways residents of Southern California could see an impact through the budget.
Transportation
Legislators’ budget restores $2 billion in cuts Newsom proposed for the Transportation Infrastructure Package — money that will go toward transit capital improvements, such as expanding transit lines and procuring new buses and trains.
“A lot of that funding will be allocated on a population basis based on statewide population percentages,” said Frank Jimenez, a fiscal and policy analyst for the Legislative Analyst’s Office. Local jurisdictions will be able to decide how to use the funding allocated to them, he said.
The Orange County Transportation Authority will benefit from the restored $2 billion, said longtime lobbyist Chris Micheli.
And Jimenez said funding the LOSSAN Rail Corridor could be an eligible expenditure. LOSSAN, which stands for Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo, moves freight and passengers through the region. In the southern portion of the corridor, trains haven’t run but for two weeks out of the last six months.
Sen. Catherine Blakespear, who represents south Orange County, has pushed for investing in the LOSSAN Rail Corridor to make its tracks more resilient.
Food and Health
The legislature’s version of the budget increases funding for health care and approved Newsom’s proposal for an additional $406.5 million to support CalFresh.
CalFresh, a nutrition benefit program, provides monthly food benefits to low-income individuals and families. According to state data, more than 1.5 million people in Los Angeles County benefit from CalFresh while over 300,000 people in San Bernardino and Orange Counties each participate in the program.
The legislature’s budget bill also requires the California Department of Social Services to provide additional CalFresh assistance, raising the monthly minimum food benefits for participating households from $23 to $50.
The budget bill also proposes eliminating health care deductibles and reducing copays for some 900,000 Californians under Covered California, the state’s health insurance marketplace, and expanding Medi-Cal to all adults regardless of immigration status.
Homelessness and Housing
The Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grant program, under the budget bill, will be allocated $1 billion for an additional year of funding. There are currently four rounds of funding, and the additional $1 billion will support a fifth.
HHAP, which provides local jurisdictions with flexible funding to continue efforts to end and prevent homelessness in their communities, is eligible for application in 13 large cities in California. The majority of the cities are in Southern California: Anaheim, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego and Santa Ana.
In Orange County, some 500 people experiencing homelessness died on the streets last year, with Santa Ana and Anaheim topping the list with 100 and 98 deaths, respectively. In Los Angeles County, the rate of deaths among homeless people spiked upward by 55% between 2019 and 2021.
Additionally, funding will go toward the CARE Court program, the plan to direct those experiencing homelessness with severe mental health or substance abuse disorders into treatment.
The program allows family members, first responders, social services or other authorized adults to petition a court to enroll a person with a severe mental illness into a CARE program. Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties are among the first counties that must implement the program beginning in October.
In Orange County, about 5,700 people were experiencing homelessness as of May 2022, when the latest point-in-time count was released. Those who are unsheltered, according to the data, experience substance use and mental health issues at a higher rate than those who are sheltered.
In San Bernardino County, 3,333 people were experiencing homelessness as of February 2022, and in Los Angeles County, over 69,000. This year, Riverside County saw a 12% increase in its homeless population from last year.
“We must protect California’s reserves while upholding our duty to prioritize investments in mental health, education, and human services that serve vulnerable Californians throughout the State,” said Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva, a Fullerton Democrat.