GOVERNOR NEWSOM RELEASES “MAY REVISION” OF STATE BUDGET

May 13, 2022

TO:                 CLA Members/ Systems/ Network Contacts
FROM:           Mike Dillon and Christina DiCaro, CLA Lobbyists
RE:                 News From the Capitol

GOVERNOR NEWSOM RELEASES “MAY REVISION” OF STATE BUDGET

This morning Governor Gavin Newsom released his “May Revision” of the State Budget during a two-hour presentation and press conference. The “May Revision” allows the Governor to assess the state’s April tax receipts, consider additional economic projections, and then adjust his January 2022-23 State Budget accordingly.  The Governor noted that there is a remarkable $97.5 billion operating surplus, $49.2 billion of which can be used for discretionary purposes, which he called “simply without precedent.”  However, the Governor - concerned about a future revenue downturn - is proposing that 94% of all of the spending outlined in his January Budget and May Revision be used for one-time spending priorities.  This means that the Governor is not intending to commit the state to extensive ongoing spending priorities under the terms of his plan.

The Governor’s May Revision includes $18 billion in relief to Californians in the form of gas tax rebates, emergency rental assistance, helping individuals pay past-due utility bills, and incentive grants to allow people to ride public transit for free.  The Budget also contains funding proposals such as additional increases in K-12 education spending, affordable student housing/infrastructure, tax relief and incentives for businesses, and a major $5.2 billion proposal to create a Strategic Electricity Reliability Reserve.

The Governor proposes several items for funding under the State Library Budget:

• State Parks Passes:“…an increase of $13.5 million one-time General Fund for the California Department of Parks and Recreation to expand availability of state parks passes offered via local libraries, in partnership with the California State Library.”(This popular pilot program was inspired by the the First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and the Governor is proposing building upon its continuing success.)
• Online Job Training and Workforce Development:“An increase of $1.4 million one-time General Fund to support online job training and workforce development resources targeting older adults and veterans at California’s local libraries, building upon the Governor’s [January] Budget investment of $8.8 million to support two additional years of free online job training and workforce development programs available through public libraries.”(This program is intended to fund online programs available at public libraries such as Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, JobNow, VetNow, etc.The Governor’s May Revise proposal is in addition to the $8.8 million he proposed for this program in his January Budget, and would bring the total funding for this program to $10.2 million, if approved by the Legislature.)
• Library Services Modernization and Online Database Subscriptions:“An increase of $570,000 ongoing General Fund to modernize State Library services with an automated loan system, and provide subscriptions to e-books and specialized online databases.”
• Communications and Outreach to Local Libraries:An increase of $335,000 ongoing General Fund to expand public outreach and education to California local libraries and patrons in under-served and multilingual communities.(We are not familiar with this item, but perhaps the State Library will have additional information on the goals of this program.)

This week, the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance voted on two items in Governor Newsom’s January Budget - $5 million in ongoing funds for Lunch at the Library and $8.8 million for the Online Job Training and Workforce Development.  The subcommittee approved these two items unanimously and will move the items forward to the larger Budget negotiations.  Additionally, the subcommittee heard a presentation on the Senate Democrats’ “Putting Wealth to Work” proposal, which seeks to provide $750 million for library infrastructure grants in this year’s Budget.  No action was taken as it was an informational item only, but CLA was pleased to testify in support of the Senate Democrats’ plan.  Budget negotiations will continue over the next few weeks between the Senate, Assembly, and the Governor.  We will continue to keep you posted regarding any developments.