Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon on Thursday released a joint statement indicating they are organizing committee hearings prior to the Legislature’s return to Sacramento to increase oversight on how funds are being spent during the COVID-19 pandemic. In their statement, Atkins and Rendon noted, “We strongly believe the Governor…
Read More »The Department of Finance (DOF) on Tuesdayissued a letter to Senate and Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee chairs notifying the Legislature of the California Office of Emergency Services’ (Cal OES) intent to make an initial down payment of $495 million to secure a newly established supply chain of masks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic….
Read More »This week, the California Department of Finance (DOF) took two significant actions related to the ongoing COVID-19 emergency. DOF Budget Letter On Tuesday, DOF issued a budget letter to all agency secretaries and departmental directors and senior staff notifying them of severe economic impacts, including a significant drop in economic activity with corresponding negative effects…
Read More »Earlier today (March 16), Governor Newsom sent a letter to the California Legislature urging action to support the state of emergency he declared on March 4. In his letter he provides a statement, as required by the Constitution, waiving the 72-hour rule – the constitutional requirement for bills to be in print for 72 hours…
Read More »Yesterday, the Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Health and Human Services heard items under various state agencies. Of particular interest were items related to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), which included hearing from State Public Health Director and Health Officer Sonia Angell on COVID-19 response activities as well as hearing a comprehensive…
Read More »On Monday, the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and Human Services, chaired by Assembly Member Joaquin Arambula, convened to hear budget items related to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). Arambula foreshadowed much of the work that lies ahead for the subcommittee, indicating they have roughly 16 scheduled hearings and the largest…
Read More »On Thursday, the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, chaired by Senator Holly Mitchell, convened an informational hearing on homelessness. The hearing commenced with the Legislative Analyst’s Office framing the issue of homelessness in California, highlighting historical state and local efforts, and walking through some of the Governor’s related budget proposals. Ali Sutton, representing the…
Read More »The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) published a report this week exploring the taxation of electronic cigarettes as proposed by Governor Gavin Newsom’s FY 2020-21 Budget. The report details the current taxes levied on electronic cigarette products, analyzes the Governor’s proposal, and poses several areas for consideration by the Legislature as its budget subcommittees begin their…
Read More »On Wednesday, the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and Human Services, chaired by Assembly Member Joaquin Arambula, and the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on State Administration, chaired by Assembly Member Jim Cooper, convened a joint informational hearing on the Governor’s 2020 budget proposals on homelessness. The hearing took place after the Governor’s…
Read More »The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) recently released its report examining the Governor’s 2020-21 Medi-Cal Budget, which proposes to invest $25.9 billion General Fund ($103.5 billion total funds) in 2020-21 representing a $2.9 billion (12.4 percent) increase over estimated 2019-20 levels. According to the LAO, the increase is largely due to workload budget adjustments, as well…
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