Sunita Sohrabji. Ethnic Media Services. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Jan. 8 unveiled the 2021-2022 state budget, a $227 billion proposal that prioritizes the immunization campaign, safe school reopenings, small business support and direct cash payments for low-income people.
"Our budget reflects the realities of a pandemic-induced recession that has exacerbated inequities for decades," Newsom said. "Income disparities have come to the forefront, and our budget addresses those disparities." He noted that even in the midst of the pandemic, the state's highest-income residents and essential businesses have thrived, bringing unanticipated revenue to the state's bottom line.
"The people who are in those conditions are doing quite well. But I don't envy their success; instead, I admire and respect it," he said, adding that the budget reflects the need to rethink additional revenue to support state residents most affected by the pandemic.
To address the COVID-19 pandemic, the governor has proposed $372 million for vaccine distribution. Newsom noted that California currently has 2.5 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and more than 1 million vaccines are expected to be administered by January 15. The state will launch public service announcements in different languages on Jan. 10 to inform diverse audiences about the benefits of the vaccine and how to access it.
Another $473 million has been set aside for testing and follow-up studies.
A total of $575 million has been proposed to help small businesses get back on their feet through grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000. Small business owners who need more information about the program, as well as to apply online at covid19.ca.gov. Applications must be submitted by January 13.
Earlier in the week, the Governor unveiled the proposed Golden State Stimulus, a $5 billion plan to distribute cash payments to 4 million low-income state residents of $600, in accordance with California's Earned Income Tax Credit program procedure. State lawmakers have already called for this program to be expanded, claiming that $600 is too small a sum to support those who have lost income due to the pandemic.
The state also plans to distribute $2.6 billion to delinquent tenants to help them with rent arrears, but Newsom said the state has not yet established a framework for distributing these funds.
Newsom said one of his top priorities was to open schools safely as soon as possible and, to that end, he has earmarked $90 billion for pre-K through 14 education, the highest amount in the state's history.
2 billion will be spent on immediate measures to return students to face-to-face education. An additional $4.6 billion has been budgeted to expand summer schools and after-school programs; this reflects the reality of parents now working longer hours to support their homes in California. Newsom said additional funding has been set aside for low-income students, English language learners and refugee youth.
"We have our sights set on equality. Children are being left behind," he said.
There is $400 million for early childhood education and $1.5 billion for adaptive education. Newsom noted that he had to attend an adaptive education school as a child.
An additional $786 million has been budgeted for the UCs and CSUs: the former will receive $425 million, while the latter will receive $361 million. Of that amount, $100 million has been budgeted to meet students' basic needs, such as food and housing, and another $30 million will be dedicated to school-based mental health programs. 250 million will support the expansion of the state's college financial aid programs. The governor fervently opposed tuition hikes.
Despite increased investment in the education sector, there was no mention of improving infrastructure in the education of low-income and rural children who cannot immediately return to the classroom and who lack basic tools such as laptops and high-speed Internet to be part of online learning.
The budget also addressed the housing and homelessness crisis in the state, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic. Currently, more than 151,000 people are living on the streets or in temporary shelters. Newsom pointed to the success of the $846 million Project Homekey program, which purchased 94 motels and hotels and converted them into permanent housing for 6,000 homeless people. The new budget adds an additional $1.75 billion to purchase more motels and hotels and to add on-site mental health and substance abuse support services.
The governor also budgeted $1.1 billion to expand the state's health care infrastructure, including the MediCal program. More importantly, however, California's 24,000 undocumented seniors will still be unable to enroll in any program. Newsom said during a briefing that he was hesitant to budget $3 billion a year to expand health care for undocumented seniors, despite this year's $34 billion budget surplus.
The governor's press conference can be found at the following link: https://bit.ly/3ovvo9R.
