i'm a member of the tech equity collaborative: https://techequitycollaborative.org/ (aside: i recommend folks join this organization)
today, they had a conversation with chris hoene from the california budget and policy institute re: the upcoming california budget: https://calbudgetcenter.org/ https://techequitycollaborative.org/event/how-covid-19-gutted-californias-bu...
some interesting things from my notes: * california is facing a $54b budget shortfall over the original 2020/21 budget proposed in january * the governor's revised proposal cuts about $14b in spending to help cover the gap * cuts in spending are about 1/2 from education, which has a mandated formula in the state constitution due to prop 98 * additional cuts in higher education ($2b) healthcare for low-income families ($1.5b) and other services * (special to me) almost the entire environmental protection budget is cut, from $723M to $42M (a 95% reduction) * the governor and the legislature are disagreeing about how to account for potential federal aid to the states. the governor wants to cut spending now to balance the budget, while the legislature wants to pass a budget which assumes some level of federal aid, and also pass triggered cuts starting in the fall depending on the level of aid which does materialize * the legislature also wants to protect some education spending, and also increase some spending on healthcare in light of covid
in short, it's a pretty grim picture. california has a pretty good budget site: http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/budget/2020-21MR/#/BudgetSummary
i recommend reading at least the intro and summary pages. we're covering some of the shortfall through accounting tricks like limiting tax credits, and we're also using about half of our $16b rainy day fund on this year's budget.
after discussing the budget, the conversation focused on two main topics: prop13 and the "schools and communities first" act which will be on the ballot in november, and on the defund-the-police movement.
re: defund the police -- california spends about $48b on law enforcement, but most of that spent by cities and counties. the state spends $13b, mostly on state prisons and on the CHP, and this number has been flat in recent years. the remainder is coming from counties.
one thing to take away from the defund movement is that timing is relevant here. the california budget must be passed by july 1st, and there's not a lot of room for either cuts or negotiations. local governments usually also have to pass their budgets by july 1st, and again the timing is pretty tight to ask for major budget revisions like defunding the police.
the prop 13 conversation is relevant, because prop 13 affects county local government revenue. counties mostly spend money on two categories: * human services * public safety with some counties having smaller additional expenses, like transportation or parks&rec. most of local/county revenue comes from property taxes, which have been limited due to prop 13.
tech equity is pushing for a bill in november called the "schools and communities first": https://www.schoolsandcommunitiesfirst.org/
which will change how commercial real-estate is taxed to provide some additional local money for schools. this will relieve some pressure on the state government to fund local schools. i found this site helpful: https://ed100.org/lessons/whopays
<3, --igor