Brown Signs California Budget

With a new fiscal year beginning on Friday and a budget in place, state lawmakers may be breathing a sigh of relief—but not everyone is satisfied.

The budget deal that took months of talks and was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday, calls for the displacement of redevelopment agencies, steering $1.7 billion to the state when the fiscal year begins on Friday.

The $85.9 billion budget, which was approved in both houses on Tuesday without Republican support, relies on $4 billion more in state revenue and deep cuts to higher education and courts. Of the budget bills approved by the Legislature late Tuesday, two seek to change the way redevelopment works in California.

Assembly Bills 1X-26 and 1X-27 seek to restructure redevelopment agencies—which allow cities to develop communities in blighted areas—in a way that diverts money to the state.

Though the League of California Cities—an association of city officials—plans to sue the state by the end of the week over the two redevelopment bills, many cities made moves in an attempt to protect as many local dollars from Gov. Jerry Brown's initial proposal to completely eliminate redevelopment agencies.

Like city officials, Republican leaders who represent Lemon Grove at the state level aren't happy with the budget. 

Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher (R-San Diego) also shared dissatisfaction with the budget's passage but said he was relieved it didn't include a tax hike.

“While I am disappointed we missed an opportunity to reform our state’s chronically troubled budget and that Democratic lawmakers rejected a budget that would have fully funded education without raising taxes, I am pleased that small businesses and families across California will see some tax relief starting July 1," Fletcher said in an emailed statement.

Though the budget was approved by Democrats, the party hasn't expressed complete contentment with the results, as their original budget was vetoed by the governor on June 16.

In a statement, Senate Majority Leader Darrell Steinberg said, “This is not a budget to celebrate. There’s a lot of pain here for a lot of people. We enacted a plan that preserves our opportunity for economic recovery, and look forward to giving Californians the chance to vote on making that recovery even stronger.”

The budget addresses a deficit that once topped $26.6 billion and passed both houses without a Republican vote. This is the second time in two decades that the budget was adopted on time and is largely due to Proposition 25, which was approved by voters in November, that allows lawmakers to pass a no-tax-hike budget with a simple majority. Though the deferment of redevelopment funds to local schools is what lawmakers are promising—the budget still postpones about $3 billion in payments to schools. 

To read the budget bills, visit the Legislature's website here.