CA Legislature to Vote on Budget Starting Tomorrow

“We’re entering the final ten days of the annual six-months-long and high-stakes budget drama playing out in Sacramento.” See More on “Final Stretch for CA State Budget” (June 4, 2025) FPLG Blog.

“The script is unfinished, but the stage directions for the governor and the legislators are crisp and clear. Consider Gavin Newsom’s Mid-May Revision (May 14, 2025) to his January 10th Proposed Budget. Take all of it, or part of it, or write something else entirely so long as there is a balanced budget signed into law by June 15th before the stroke of midnight.”

A few days ago, on Monday, June 9th, the budget leaders of the California Assembly and the State Senate – (representing the Democratic supermajorities in both chambers) – announced an agreement and a draft budget bill. See: SB-101 Budget Act of 2025.(2025-2026), Date Published: 06/10/2025 02:57 AM, amended in Assembly June 9, 2025 [Full text]

See Legislative Summary Reports:

• Senate: Senate Bill 101, Legislature’s Version of the 2025-26 State Budget (June 9, 2025, 24 pp. PDF), Sen. Mike McGuire, President pro Tempore; Sen. Scott Wiener, Chair, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review
• Assembly: Assembly Budget Committee Report, Subcommittee Report 2025-2026 Budget, (June 9, 2025, 133 pp. PDF) Chair, Jesse Gabriel

A vote of the full Assembly is scheduled for Friday, June 13, 2025, at 8 am. The Senate vote will follow soon after, but has not yet been scheduled.

• [*Update: 6/15/25 – Assembly and Senate passed budget legislation – SB 101 – on Friday, June 13, 2025. Latest bill text . On Governor Newsom’s desk now. Negotiations to follow between Legislature and Governor for agreement on final budget legislation. Deadline: June 27, 2025.]

What Happens Next? 

According to Jason Sisney, who is the Budget Advisor, Speaker’s Office, California State Assembly, if lawmakers approve the budget bill and present it to the governor by Sunday, June 15, 2025, then Gavin Newsom’s deadline to sign, veto, or line-item veto the bill will be on Friday, June 27, 2025. “Well before that date, the Senate and Assembly leaders will begin negotiations with Governor Newsom to reach a final agreement on the budget.”

He adds: “Typically, up to a few dozen trailer bills – statutory measures authored by the budget committees to implement provisions of the budget – emerge and begin to be considered in budget committees and each house of the Legislature later in June. Most of the content that will be amended into trailer bills – sometimes with modifications – is already online at the Department of Finance’s trailer bill website …. More budget legislation likely will be considered in August and September 2025 during the closing weeks of this year’s legislative session.”

Of course, there’s also the federal budget and tax legislation coming down the pike: That will likely “affect Californians significantly,” requiring additional significant state budget action.

Sometimes, the key players approve a “placeholder bill” and continue the negotiations in the days thereafter. That’s certainly a possibility this year.

A Quick Summary

The ‪California Senate Democratic Caucus posted this on BlueSky ‬yesterday: ·”On Monday, the #CALeg announced a budget agreement that prioritizes #CA residents by helping fast-track housing construction & wildfire prevention, investing in resources to combat homelessness, strengthening public schools, boosting public safety & making the #GoldenState more affordable.”

The lawmakers’ agreement – even in summary form – is considerably more complicated than that, of course.  The Assembly Budget Subcommittee’s Report is 133 pages long. (Jason Sisney is the author of the Overview!): It begins: “The California Legislature’s budget plan includes $232 billion of spending from the General Fund in 2025-26, an estimated $89 billion of special fund spending, and $4 billion of spending from bond accounts.”

“In addition, as of the May Revision, $174 billion of federal funds spending was projected to flow through the state treasury, but that amount may change significantly based on upcoming actions by Congress and the White House.”

Among the ways that the 2025-25 budget bill and package will “respond to the broad uncertainty” of the moment, the senators and assembly members point to:

• “Reducing or delaying some severe proposed cuts in safety net programs to make sure these vital investments are not slashed prematurely.
• Funding public schools as required by the Constitution, expanding the number of child care slots, and avoiding ongoing cuts to California’s university systems.
• Using part of the state’s rainy day fund and other reserves, while also making difficult choices that begin to reduce Medi-Cal and other state costs.
• Helping advance Los Angeles wildfire recovery and boosting personnel resources to prevent and fight future wildfires.
• Avoiding new taxes on individuals, families, and small businesses, while prioritizing affordable housing funding and advancing the strongest ever reforms of the California Environmental Quality Act to promote housing in environmentally responsible locations.”

Lawmakers describe the Mid-May Revision, announced on May 14, 2025, as a “first volley” to these final negotiations. They point out specifically if, and how, their proposed changes differ from the governor’s positions. They also stress that some of this will require legislation, a constitutional amendment or two, and perhaps some voter approval.

This was never going to be an easy lift; there is no disagreement in Sacramento that California’s revenue system has some built-in volatility that needs to be addressed.

Conclusion

There’s some interesting history about how the California state budget process came to include strict time frames, and eventually a change from a 2/3 vote requirement down to a simple majority. See The June 15 budget deadline (June 9, 2023)  jasonsisney.substack.com: “It emerged from the bitter 1969 budget dispute between the Legislature and Governor Ronald Reagan.  For three days, the state had no enacted budget after the 1968-69 fiscal year ended on June 30, 1969,” creating “chaos” and “fiscal crisis.”

– Linda J. Rosenthal, J.D., FPLG Information & Research Director