Governor pitches $122.5B California budget, warns of deficit
(AP) — California Gov. Jerry Brown proposed a $122.5 billion state spending plan Tuesday and warned of a looming $1.6 billion budget deficit because of slow growth in tax revenues.
Brown announced his proposed budget as the state faces uncertainty about changes to come from President-elect Donald Trump and the Republican-led U.S. Congress on a host of programs that affect California, from health care policy to immigration.
Trump has pledged to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law, which California has embraced by enrolling about 5 million people in private health insurance or publicly funded Medi-Cal coverage.
The 78-year-old governor also used his annual budget news conference to harp against the state tax system that he says is overly reliant on the highest-income earners, leading to inevitable boom-and-bust cycles dominated by the fortunes of Silicon Valley.
The nonpartisan legislative analyst, Mac Taylor, released his budget forecast in November, projecting the state would have a $2.8 billion surplus after accounting for the higher cost of delivering state services for another year.