What’s Next: The May Revise is coming soon! ☝️ Get caught up on our advocacy work

May 7, 2024

The first few weeks of May are always an engaging and exciting period of time as the Capitol community focuses on the Appropriations Committee deadline and awaits the release of the Governor’s May Budget Revision. The May Revision presents the Administration’s update to its January Budget proposal, incorporating the latest revenue figures and unveiling any new initiatives.  The Capitol community is bracing for the release of the May Revision this year as it is widely anticipated it will detail a growing budget shortfall and outline the significant program cuts that will be needed to close the deficit and balance the budget.  Against this disastrous fiscal backdrop, the Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees are expected to be even more tightfisted and fail to pass more bills than normal.

In the days ahead, stay tuned for NextGen’s official response to the May Revision and the respective Appropriations’ Committee actions, including how the final budget numbers and committee actions will impact our advocacy work. For now, however, let’s dive into this issue of What’s Next, which takes a closer look at several projects on the NextGen agenda and a few updates on our policy, budget, and program priorities including information on: Governor Newsom’s Master Plan for Career Education and how the public is helping to shape the plan; two recent articles which take a closer look at how California can provide more affordable, reliable broadband to all regions of the state; a nomination for NextGen’s Tiffany Germain to be recognized for “best performing advocate” at Nourish California’s Freshy Awards; details on two upcoming events being held by California’s Racial Equity Commission; and plenty more!

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Here’s a look at What’s Next at NextGen:

Master Plan for Career Education: Governor Newsom’s Master Plan for Career Education is a comprehensive initiative meant to revolutionize California’s career education and workforce development systems. As part of the process to develop the final Master Plan, a series of regional meetings, where Californians could weigh in on the various elements of the Master Plan proposal, were held throughout the state. This part of the development process is coming to an end but we encourage you to stay tuned for updates regarding the next steps in the process. Access additional information, helpful resources, and more updates on the Master Plan for Career Education!

Read the Latest on Broadband For All: California is spending billions of dollars to close the digital divide and connect more Californians to affordable broadband service throughout the state – but critics are warning that prices won’t drop if these infrastructure investments continue going to the wrong places. In the first of two articles breaking down this situation, LAist reporter Nereida Moreno takes a closer look at how California can still achieve digital equity by ensuring that these targeted investments are made properly by Governor Newsom and the State Legislature. In Moreno’s second article, she explores how taxpayer dollars can be better spent on Broadband For All to help California’s low-income and underserved communities.

Celebrating NextGen’s Food Insecurity Work: It was quite an honor to learn that NextGen’s Research & Policy Advisor Tiffany Germain was nominated for Nourish California’s Freshy Awards as “best performing statewide advocate!” We’re incredibly proud to see Tiffany recognized for her hard work and her commitment to helping solve food insecurity in California. Voting for the Freshy Award nominees has closed and the winners are currently being selected – stay tuned for more information when the official list of Freshy Award winners is released!

Upcoming Racial Equity Commission Events: Mark your calendar! California’s Racial Equity Commission will be holding two events this week in the Los Angeles area:
  • Staff Meet-n-Greet with Community: May 8th at 6:00 pm – Community Coalition, 8101 S Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90044
  • Budget Equity Committee Meeting: May 9th at 1:00 pm – Japanese American National Museum, George & Sakaye Aratani Central Hall, 100 North Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012

We encourage interested individuals to join the members of the Racial Equity Commission for these public events and learn more about the budget equity tools and best practices that California leaders can use to help address racial disparities within government policies and programs. Check out additional details for both of the Racial Equity Commission’s events, including how you can register to virtually attend the May 9th Budget Equity Committee Meeting!


It’s time to make your voice heard, college students! 📣🎓 Email your State Representatives today to let them know California needs Cal Grant Reform to help thousands of low-income students achieve their higher education goals!

Email your representative


Did You Know? Big news for those who are pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)! From now through July of this year, the US Department of Education is transferring student loan accounts in-house from the student loan servicer, MOHELA. For borrowers working towards PSLF, this means that during this transition period, no PSLF paperwork will be processed! We encourage all student borrowers pursuing PSLF to take screenshots of their MOHELA account, specifically the PSLF payment tracker, to ensure all records are accounted for during this transition period. For more information, check out what our friends from the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) are advising for those working towards PSLF.

Member Spotlight: This week, we’re shining a spotlight on Senator Caroline Menjivar, who represents California’s 20th Senate District. Senator Menjivar is the author of SB 1497, a bill focused on fighting climate change which NextGen is proud to support. SB 1497 would help bring California one step closer to holding big oil accountable for the pollution they’ve produced in our state, and we’re pleased to share that this bill recently passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 7-2 vote! Thank you Senator Menjivar for prioritizing California’s frontline communities, putting people over profits, and leading the charge to help make polluters pay. Make sure to keep up with Senator Menjivar’s legislative work!

Legislative Deadlines and Insights: The month of May is never dull for the Capitol Community as bills make their way through the legislative process (fiscal committees and then floor votes) and budget negotiations begin to kick into full swing with the release of the May Revision. The vast majority of bills that are introduced have a fiscal impact and must be considered by the respective Appropriations Committees in each house. Each bill is reviewed for its budgetary impacts and if it meets a specific fiscal threshold it is placed on what is called the Suspense file. A pass or fail vote is held for all bills on the Suspense file at a special Appropriations Committee hearing – this hearing must take place no later than May 17th. At this hearing, the fate of hundreds of Assembly and Senate bills is determined – they will either pass and move on in the legislative process or fail and be considered dead for the remainder of the legislative session.

Generally, the Governor’s May Revision, is released on or around May 15th. NextGen, along with many other economic forecasters as well as legislative advocates, expect the budget picture to worsen. This news will trigger weeks of tough budget negotiations between the Legislature and the Governor in order to balance the budget by the June 30th constitutional deadline. NextGen will officially comment on the May Revision once our team has a chance to review it. With a bad revenue outlook, we know that program cuts and delays will be on the table. Our goal will be to ensure that, to the best of our ability and to the extent feasible, the needs of the most vulnerable Californians are prioritized and protected.

Our Mission: NextGen Policy fights for progressive policy change to address environmental, social, racial, gender, and economic inequities through justice-centered legislative advocacy, grassroots partnerships, and democratic civic engagement.

Thank you for being a part of our journey toward a more equitable California. As we continue to push for progressive policy change, we invite you to make a difference by donating to support our organization. Your contribution will directly impact our efforts to address environmental, social, and economic inequities throughout the state.

 

Thank you,

NextGen Policy