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Newsom Unveils Revised Budget Proposal, $100 Billion Post-Pandemic Recovery Plan

The $267.8 billion budget includes a $196.8 billion general fund and is roughly $41 billion more than the initial budget Newsom proposed in January.

Published

5 years ago

May 21, 2021

Christy Price

Gavin Newsom/Wikimedia

Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled his revised state budget proposal May 14, including a $100 billion economic recovery plan and scores of one-time spending thanks to a nearly $76 billion projected surplus.

The $267.8 billion budget includes a $196.8 billion general fund and is roughly $41 billion more than the initial budget Newsom proposed in January.

The increase in proposed spending was made possible by the state receiving billions more dollars in tax revenue than expected over the last year as the state’s wealthiest residents got even wealthier, according to Newsom and state budget officials.

“That (recovery plan) is the biggest economic recovery package — period, full stop — in California history,” Newsom said.

Newsom spent the week leading up to the announcement teasing bits and pieces of the budget and the recovery package, which he has dubbed the California Comeback Plan.

The plan includes sending $600 stimulus checks to state residents who made up to $75,000 last year, spending billions to assist with rent and utility bills that have gone unpaid due to the coronavirus pandemic, making pre-kindergarten available to all 4-year-olds in the state and some $4 billion in relief grants for small businesses.

Newsom touted the budget’s $93.7 billion in public education funding as the most ever allocated to schools by the state.

That figure also does not include some $15.3 billion in federal education funding and another $8.1 billion in tax revenue that could be funneled to education spending via the “Gann limit,” a 1979 voter-approved ballot measure that puts an annual limit on government spending.

When the limit is reached, the remaining money must be returned to taxpayers. The roughly $12 billion that will fund the $600 stimulus checks is also part of that strategy to disperse money that surpassed the Gann limit, according to state officials.

The education funding would amount to roughly $14,000 per student across the state, double what the state was spending per student a decade ago, according to Newsom.

The state would spend $900 million in 2022-2023 and $2.7 billion in 2024-2025 under the plan to make pre-kindergarten universally available. Some 250,000 students would gain access to pre-K once fully implemented, Newsom said.

The budget includes $3.3 billion to train and support the additional teachers needed to expand the availability of pre-kindergarten and cut the ratio of pre-K students to teachers from 24-to-1 to 12-to-1.

“We want to make public schools essential,” Newsom said. “We want to make them competitive. We want to make our public education system enriching. We want to make our public education system what it’s capable of being.”

The funding plan also includes $2 billion to open personal savings accounts for some 3.7 million low-income, foster, homeless and English-learning youth.

The savings accounts would be seeded with $500 base deposits for every student in the program and an additional $500 for students who are homeless or in foster care.

The accounts could eventually be used to help pay for college or start a business, Newsom said, noting that some studies have found that children with early financial access and planning are seven times more likely to go to college.broadband internet

“This is an opportunity to address generational poverty,” Newsom said. “This is an opportunity to stretch a college-going mind but also an opportunity to look at trade school and entrepreneurial spirit… because we recognize there are many pathways for our children.”

The budget proposal also includes billions to help unhoused residents get off the streets; build some 46,000 housing units for unhoused residents; clean the state’s streets, freeways and neighborhoods; install broadband internet across the state; modernize the state’s infrastructure; invest in clean and renewable energy sources; and invest in drought and wildfire preparedness and resilience.

Newsom framed the spending in the proposed budget as economic supports that will help the state’s economy come “roaring back” from last year’s nadir in the pandemic’s early days, which forced the state to make financial cuts to shore up a roughly $54 billion budget deficit.

The revised budget proposal, while released on schedule, also comes as Newsom faces an effort to recall him and multiple Republican candidates that have argued the projected surplus is so large only because the state taxes its residents too much.

State Republican Party Chair Jessica Millan Patterson said in a statement that the week-long budget rollout — which Newsom has done in the past — was a de-facto response tour to the recall effort and called him “shameless” for taking some credit in the state’s economic rebound.

“The only credit he and Democrats deserve is for California’s shuttered businesses, sky-high unemployment, deteriorating unemployment department, shrinking population, devastating homeless crisis and failing education system that is punishing students and parents through its union-first virtual schooling,” she said.

State Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, praised Newsom for the revised budget proposal’s priorities.

“Thank goodness California is in the position to make transformative investments to end family homelessness, lift those hurt by the pandemic and properly fund our schools,” said Skinner, the chair of the Senate Budget Committee.

“Gov. Newsom’s proposed budget does that and more and complements the state Senate’s priorities,” she said. “Let the negotiations begin.”

Full details on Newsom’s revised budget proposal can be found at http://www.ebudget.ca.gov.

Newsom and the state Legislature will have until June 15 to approve the budget before the new fiscal year begins on July 1.

Christy Price

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COMMENTARY: The National Protest Must Be Accompanied with Our Votes

Just as Trump is gathering election data like having the FBI take all the election data in Georgia from the 2020 election, so must we organize in preparation for the coming primary season to have the right people on ballots in each Republican district, so that we can regain control of the House of Representatives and by doing so, restore the separation of powers and balance that our democracy is being deprived of.

Published

1 day ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper. File photo..

By Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper

As thousands of Americans march every week in cities across this great nation, it must be remembered that the protest without the vote is of no concern to Donald Trump and his administration.

In every city, there is a personal connection to the U.S. Congress. In too many cases, the member of Congress representing the people of that city and the congressional district in which it sits, is a Republican. It is the Republicans who are giving silent support to the destructive actions of those persons like the U.S. Attorney General, the Director of Homeland Security, and the National Intelligence Director, who are carrying out the revenge campaign of the President rather than upholding the oath of office each of them took “to Defend The Constitution of the United States.”

In California, the primary comes in June 2026. The congressional races must be a priority just as much as the local election of people has been so important in keeping ICE from acquiring facilities to build more prisons around the country.

“We the People” are winning this battle, even though it might not look like it. Each of us must get involved now, right where we are.

In this Black History month, it is important to remember that all we have accomplished in this nation has been “in spite of” and not “because of.” Frederick Douglas said, “Power concedes nothing without a struggle.”

Today, the struggle is to maintain our very institutions and history. Our strength in this struggle rests in our “collectiveness.” Our newspapers and journalists are at the greatest risk. We must not personally add to the attack by ignoring those who have been our very foundation, our Black press.

Are you spending your dollars this Black History Month with those who salute and honor contributions by supporting those who tell our stories? Remember that silence is the same as consent and support for the opposition. Where do you stand and where will your dollars go?

Oakland Post

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Activism

Congresswoman Simon Votes Against Department of Homeland Security, ICE Funding

“They need accountability. Republicans already gave these agencies an unprecedented $170 billion for immigration enforcement, funding they have used to conduct raids at schools, separate families, and deploy a masked paramilitary who refuse to identify themselves on American streets. This bill gives them more funding without a single reform to stop unconstitutional, immoral abuses,” she said.

Published

1 day ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12). File photo.

By Post Staff

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) released a statement after voting against legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which supports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB).

“Today, I voted NO on legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security through Feb. 13, 2026.

“ICE and CBP do not need more funding to terrorize communities or kill more people,” she said in the media release.

“They need accountability. Republicans already gave these agencies an unprecedented $170 billion for immigration enforcement, funding they have used to conduct raids at schools, separate families, and deploy a masked paramilitary who refuse to identify themselves on American streets. This bill gives them more funding without a single reform to stop unconstitutional, immoral abuses,” she said.

“The American people are demanding change. Poll after poll of Americans’ opinions show overwhelming support for requiring ICE agents to wear body cameras and prohibiting them from hiding their faces during enforcement actions. This is the bare minimum transparency standard, and this funding legislation does not even meet this low bar,” Simon said.

“Republicans in Congress are not serious about reining in these lawless agencies. Their refusal to make meaningful changes to the DHS funding bill has consequences that go beyond immigration enforcement. TSA agents who keep our airports safe and FEMA workers who help our communities recover from disasters are stuck in limbo due to Republican inaction.

“The Constitution does not have an exception for immigrants. Every person on American soil has rights, and federal agencies must respect them. The East Bay has made clear at the Alameda County and city level that we will hold the line against a violent ICE force and support our immigrant communities – I will continue to hold the line and our values with my votes in Congress.”

Oakland Post

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Activism

Post Newspaper Invites NNPA to Join Nationwide Probate Reform Initiative

The Post’s Probate Reform Group meets the first Thursday of every month via Zoom and invites the public to attend. The Post is making the initiative national and will submit information from its monthly meeting to the NNPA to educate, advocate, and inform its readers.

Published

1 day ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Tanya Dennis

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) represents the Black press with over 200 newspapers nationwide.

Last night the Post announced that it is actively recruiting the Black press to inform the public that there is a probate “five-alarm fire” occurring in Black communities and invited every Black newspaper starting from the Birmingham Times in Alabama to the Milwaukee Times Weekly in Wisconsin, to join the Post in our “Year of Action” for probate reform.

Reporter Tanya Dennis says, “The adage that ‘When America catches a cold, Black folks catch the flu” is too true in practice; that’s why we’re engaging the Black Press to not only warn, but educate the Black community regarding the criminal actions we see in probate court: Thousands are losing generational wealth to strangers. It’s a travesty that happens daily.”

Venus Gist, a co-host of the reform group, states, “ Unfortunately, people are their own worst enemy when it comes to speaking with loved ones regarding their demise. It’s an uncomfortable subject that most avoid, but they do so at their peril. The courts rely on dissention between family members, so I encourage not only a will and trust [be created] but also videotape the reading of your documents so you can show you’re of sound mind.”

In better times, drafting a will was enough; then a trust was an added requirement to ‘iron-clad’ documents and to assure easy transference of wealth.

No longer.

As the courts became underfunded in the last 20 years, predatory behavior emerged to the extent that criminality is now occurring at alarming rates with no oversight, with courts isolating the conserved, and, I’ve heard, many times killing conservatees for profit. Plundering the assets of estates until beneficiaries are penniless is also common.”

Post Newspaper Publisher Paul Cobb says, “The simple solution is to avoid probate at all costs. If beneficiaries can’t agree, hire a private mediator and attorney to work things out. The moment you walk into court, you are vulnerable to the whims of the court. Your will and trust mean nothing.”

Zakiya Jendayi, a co-host of the Probate Reform Group and a victim herself, says, “In my case, the will and trust were clear that I am the beneficiary of the estate, but the opposing attorney said I used undue influence to make myself beneficiary. He said that without proof, and the judge upheld the attorney’s baseless assertion. In court, the will and trust is easily discounted.”

The Black press reaches out to 47 million Black Americans with one voice. The power of the press has never been so important as it is now in this national movement to save Black generational wealth from predatory attorneys, guardians and judges.

The next probate reform meeting is on March 5, from 7 – 9 p.m. PST. Zoom Details:
Meeting ID: 825 0367 1750
Passcode: 475480

All are welcome.