Legislature Reaches Budget Agreement

On Wednesday, the Legislature released its joint budget plan, building on the Governor’s May Revise and the Assembly and Senate’s individual budget proposals. This proposal will still need to be reconciled with the Governor’s May Revise proposal. By State law, the Governor has twelve working days to sign the budget bill after it is passed by June 15th. State leaders have pledged to keep negotiating with Governor Newsom to reach an agreement by July 1, the start of the new fiscal year.

The biggest difference between the Legislature’s and the Governor’s plan is how to help taxpayers keep up with rising gas prices. The Legislature prefers to send $200 checks to taxpayers and their dependents with up to $250,000 annual income for joint filers and $125,000 for single filers, while the Governor’s proposal would send up to $800 checks to people who own cars — $400 per vehicle with a limit of two cars per person.

The Legislature’s budget includes the following May Revise provisions:

• $300M for Encampment Resolution Grants
• $250 million over two years for Adaptive Reuse, including a $10 million reappropriation of existing funding.
• $500 million over two years for the Infill infrastructure Grant Program.
• $100 million over two years for mobile homes and manufactured housing.
• $150 million over two years for the preservation of existing affordable housing.
• $100 million over two years for affordable housing on state excess sites
  

The Legislature additionally includes the following provisions that were not part of the Governor’s proposal:

• $350 million for the CalHOME program.
• $300 million for the Housing Accelerator Program.
• $400 million over two years for the Multifamily Housing Program.
• $100 million for the Joe Serna Jr. Farmworker Housing Program.
• $200 million for affordable housing preservation through the Community Anti-Displacement Acquisition Program (CAPP).
• $50 million for ADU financing.
• $50 million for down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers.
• $150 million over two years to continue the Veterans Housing and Homelessness Prevention Program created by Proposition 41 (2014).

The Legislature’s proposal also includes $500 million in both FY 2022 – 23 and FY 2023 – 24 for the Homeless Housing, Accountability, and Prevention Program (HHAP), $30 million for FY 2022- 23 to increase funding for legal aid to prevent evictions, and funding for the California Dream for All first-time homebuyer program (more details in “Senate Leader Unveils Details on Homeownership Plan”). The Legislature’s proposal notably does not include increased funding for the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program or an expansion of State Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), which were included in the May Revise.