In an instant the State went from a thriving economy to shuttered businesses, mandated lockdowns and a projected 54-billion-dollar state budget deficit. This brought upon an unprecedented legislative session with even the most seasoned political professionals working to navigate the unknown.
On May 14, 2020, Governor Newsom presented his 2020-2021 Budget May Revision. The Governor opened by outlining the stark contrast between his optimistic January budget proposal which reflected record low unemployment, a thriving economy and projected surplus of 5.6 billion in revenue with the reality that we are faced with today.
During a time of certain anxiety and uncertainty, Governor Newsom as well as the California Legislature has taken swift, decisive and bipartisan action in an effort to support Cities, Counties and school districts to combat the growing spread of COVID-19 otherwise known as the Novel Coronavirus. All efforts are aimed at “flattening the curve” of those who will become infected—preserving resources (e.g. medical staff, hospital beds, ventilators etc.) for those Californians at the highest risk levels.
With this year as the final year of the two-year session, Members are making the last push to successfully complete their policy goals and campaign promises before heading back to their districts for the fall recess. With thousands of measures awaiting committee referrals making sense of what is “out there” can be somewhat of a challenge for a variety of reasons.
