A first look at Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed state budget

Governor Jerry Brown, explaining his revised budget for California. Photo by Andrew Nixon.

A copy of Governor Jerry Brown’s state budget proposal has been leaked. Brown is proposing a $106.8-billion general fund and is calling for “fiscal restraint,” including a plan to cut the state’s long-term debt by more than $11 billion.

The Sacramento Bee posted a copy of the 271-page budget summary. Brown now plans to unveil his proposed budget on Thursday morning, rather than Friday, as was originally planned.

The governor plans to use much of the budget surplus to pay down debt and set aside $1.6 billion in reserves for a rainy day fund.

Among the governor’s other proposals are more than $800 million for infrastructure projects at state parks, highways, schools, courts and prisons, a five percent increase in welfare grants, and $670 million for the expansion of Medi-Cal, including mental health and adult dental programs.

In terms of education spending, the proposed budget includes $45.2 billion for K-12 schools – an increase of nearly $4 billion in education spending from the current fiscal year.

The summary makes no mention of transitional kindergarten, something championed by Democrats in both the Assembly and Senate in recent days.

For some preliminary analysis, KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis spoke with John Myers, political reporter at News 10 in Sacramento.