Assemblymember Quirk-Silva Votes on the 2020-2021 State Budget
Sacramento, CA - Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-Fullerton) joined her colleagues yesterday to present and vote on the Legislature’s proposed budget, SB 74. Last month, the Governor unveiled his May Revise budget proposal. The California Constitution provides that each house of the Legislature must adopt a balanced state budget by midnight on June 15. This year, the Senate and the Assembly came together to put forth a unified budget bill with priorities to stand strong to protect jobs, housing, education, health care and against steep cuts to vital services for children, families, seniors, and our most vulnerable populations.
“The economic outlook of our state looks much different than it did when the Governor’s initial state budget proposal was presented in January, said Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva. “Even though there are some differences between the Governor’s May Revise budget proposal and the unified Legislature proposal, we all understand that there will be tough choices that will affect everyone in some way or another through these tough economic times. But one thing is for sure, California is strong, and together we can overcome these obstacles, as we have done many times in our state’s history.”
The Legislature’s budget plan avoids overcutting state programs by using several billion of the state’s reserves and federal aid from the CARES Act. To highlight a few of the features of the plan:
• Protects core education programs and rejects $8 billion of Prop 98 cuts in Governor’s trigger proposal
• Protects child care funding rates, ensures no children are cut from existing child and early learning care programs, and aims to increase access for essential workers
• Protects key health and senior programs, including health care workforce support and IHSS
• Builds on the Governor’s proposal to fund local governments
• Maintains funding for homelessness efforts
The state budget process involves stringent deadlines, committee hearings on specific budget areas, joint committee hearings and intense negotiations between legislative leaders, budget chairs, and the Governor’s office.
As the state continues to focus on the health and safety of all Californians due to the COVID-19 pandemic which includes vital shelter-in-place orders, the standard process had to be adjusted significantly, which included shorter timelines and limited hearings.
“It has been a long battle to fight for the programs that are essential to people’s lives. Our children and most vulnerable populations were very important when crafting this budget” said Assemblymember Quirk-Silva. “My colleagues and I are committed to continue working with Governor Newsom in order to make the best decisions for our state through this budget.”
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