By Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌, California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌ 

Gov. Gavin Newsom presented a $291 billion spending plan to the California Legislature on Jan. 10. Despite a looming shortfall estimated at tens of billions of dollars, Newsom avoided making cuts to critical expenditures in education, public safety, curbing organized retail theft, housing for the homeless, mental health care reform, climate action, and other issues that are priorities.

During his speech, delivered at the auditorium of the Secretary of State building in Sacramento, Newsom clarified that he expects the state to have a $37.9 billion deficit. That figure is considerably lower than the nearly $68 billion deficit projected last month by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Office (LAO).

“Those of you who’ve been writing about a different number I hope you’re immediately correcting,” Newsom said moments into his presentation. “We’ve been pretty damn transparent with you by making the point publicly, not just privately that that was not the number, but it continues to be reported as the gospel.”

On Jan. 13, the LAO released an analysis of Newsom’s budget proposal that placed the amount of the budget deficit problem to about $58 billion, $10 billion lower than its original projection and nearly $20 million more than the Department of Finance calculations.

“Our state is in a strong position to close this shortfall while protecting key priorities and programs that millions of Californians rely on,” Newsom remained upbeat about the state’s economic forecast.

During the Q&A session after his presentation, Newsom, in response to a question posed by California Black Media stated that he took deliberate steps to safeguard programs that the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) had identified as important. They included the state’s equity multiplier funding program designed to support schools with significant numbers of socioeconomically disadvantaged children — an initiative strongly advocated by Assemblymember Akilah Weber (D-La Mesa) — and funding for the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA.

In a statement released Jan. 11, State Controller Malia M. Cohen, who is responsible for accountability and disbursement of the state’s resources, says that she has faith in Newsom’s projections.

“While the Governor had difficult choices to make to address the budget shortfall, I’m confident that the budget announced (Jan. 10) will keep California moving forward and continue the work necessary to support vital public health and safety programs along with other core services,” Cohen stated.

Several Republican lawmakers expressed their disapproval of Newsom’s spending plan, including Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher (R-Yuba City), who called the Governor’s budget “pure fantasyland.”

Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) shared his views on Newsom’s budget proposal.

Jones stated in a Jan. 10 statement that Newsom’s plan is “year six of ‘Gavinomics’ where his budgets turn surpluses into deficits and his policies push Californians to flee.”

Calling California’s economy the “greatest wealth generator in the world,” Newsom said he is confident California will close its budget gap.

“This is a story of correction, a story of normalization after a period of a tremendous amount of distortion,” Newsom said.

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