For Immediate Release: June 27, 2024
Contact: Tyler Bushnell, tyler.bushnell@nextgenpolicy.org 

 

Amidst a projected $45 billion budget deficit, the state budget deal preserves various key safety net programs, but falls short in protecting the state’s digital equity, financial aid, and climate priorities.

SACRAMENTO – After weeks of negotiations, Governor Newsom and Legislative Leaders agreed upon a $297.9 billion 2024-25 State Budget. The release of last month’s May Revision added an additional $7 billion to the budget shortfall, requiring the State Legislature and Governor to close a total $45 billion deficit projected since January. To counterbalance these shortfalls, the 2024-25 State Budget includes significant program cuts and implementation delays, a statewide hiring freeze, fund shifts, and the use of reserves.

While the final 2024-25 State Budget preserves important food security and nutrition assistance programs such as School Meals for All and the California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP), it falls short of fully funding California’s Climate Commitment, key digital equity programs, as well as providing additional financial aid for our lowest-income students through the Cal Grant Reform Act.

The budget deal enacts $36.5 billion of the original $54 billion California Climate Commitment through the end of the budget year. It also outlines a path to increase climate spending to roughly $45 billion over the next five years by leaning heavily on Cap and Trade revenues to backfill General Fund cuts. Once fully implemented, these changes will maintain a substantial share of the funding in the original Climate Commitment but at the expense of other climate-focused programs funded by Cap and Trade revenues. These “shifts” and delays are better characterized as cuts to the state’s total level of climate investment – clearly some program priorities are protected, but the total amount of funding is not.

Below are statements from NextGen California’s Executive Director Arnold Sowell Jr. and members of the policy team in response to the final state budget:

Statement from NextGen California Executive Director, Arnold Sowell Jr.:

“In light of the serious budget limitations that the State of California is facing, several of our policy priorities in the digital equity, climate resilience, and student financial aid spaces as well as other key program areas were significantly impacted. We will remain steadfast in our commitment to advocate on behalf of California’s most vulnerable communities who will feel the sting of these budget impacts more than other Californians, and we will continue to work with the Legislature and the Newsom Administration to reinstate and fully fund crucial safety net programs going forward.”

Statement from NextGen California Legislative Director & Policy Advisor, Samantha Seng:

“We are disappointed to see the status quo prevail, where our lowest-income students will continue to be barred from state financial aid due to outdated eligibility barriers. All students who have financial need should be able to access state financial aid, attend college and reach for their dreams — that is why funding the Cal Grant Reform Act of 2022 is a must! We thank our Legislative champions Assemblymembers Alvarez and Fong and our Legislative leaders — given the difficult budget landscape, we are grateful that the Legislature did include investments for our lowest income students in their initial budget plan. We look forward to continuing to work with the Legislature and Newsom Administration to expand higher education and career training access in California.”

Statement from NextGen California Senior Policy Advisor, Dave Weiskopf:

“This budget heralds the end of California Climate Commitment 1.0 – California’s brief effort to expand climate investments beyond the limited revenues available from Cap and Trade and bringing a welcome infusion of additional funding for program investments. But we are now poised to return to last decade’s business as usual approach to climate investments, which will cost our state dearly in the coming years unless we change course. This zero-sum approach, which pits necessary investments against each other within a small pot of available funding, is not sustainable in the face of an accelerating climate crisis. 

We need to think bigger for a California Climate Commitment 2.0. That means finding new, dedicated sources of funding through a climate bond and a climate-aligned school bond, closing tax loopholes that subsidize the oil industry, and creating new, stronger polluters-pay mechanisms for the harm fossil fuel companies have caused to our state. It also means adopting a Climate 100 approach: every department has a role to play both in protecting Californians from the climate crisis and offering solutions to help us meet our climate pollution reduction targets. It’s time to seriously rethink our state’s approach to budgeting to take full account of the role climate change plays in our lives: later is too late.”

Statement from NextGen California Research & Policy Advisor, Tiffany Germain:

“We are incredibly grateful to Governor Newsom and the Legislature for fully funding School Meals for All, ensuring all California students get access to two nutritious meals every day at school regardless of family income. As first in the nation, California has been a model to other states on how investing in school meals reduces stigma and bridges a critical hunger gap – one in four California families with children face food insecurity and programs like School Meals for All are essential for meeting hungry children where they are. 

As a part of the Budget deal, funds for the California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP) were restored, a powerful program in the fight against food insecurity and a tremendous economic benefit to California’s most vulnerable populations. CNIP funds programs such as Market Match, which provides incentives to help California’s low-income families purchase healthy and nutritious foods. We are grateful to state leadership for realizing the full potential of this program that provides transformative benefits to families, local farmers, communities, and the environment across the state of California.”

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The mission of NextGen California is to fight for progressive policy change to address environmental, social, racial, gender, and economic inequities in California through justice-centered legislative advocacy, grassroots partnerships, and democratic civic engagement.