SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s on Friday released a $300.6 billion spending plan that would fund tax rebates, abortion care, bonuses for health care workers and more fueled by a $97.5 billion surplus.
The flush budget largely reflects a continued surge in tax revenue driven by income gains in high-earning households.
In January 2020, before the coronavirus pandemic, Newsom’s budget called for $222 billion in total spending, meaning the state’s budget has grown by roughly 35% over two years.
His budget proposal includes $37.1 billion in reserves, including $23.3 billion in the state’s rainy day fund, $9.5 billion in a school stabilization fund, $3.4 billion in an operating reserve and $900 million in a social services safety net.
Newsom’s original budget prioritized homeless aid, COVID-19 response funds and transportation projects, as well as climate change spending to help fight wildfires and address drought.
The governor’s revised budget adds money to provide tax refunds for all California vehicle owners. Newsom plans to spend $11.5 billion to give drivers $400 per vehicle — capped at $800 — to help cope with high gasoline prices and inflation costs.
He also proposed allocating $933 million to give an estimated 600,000 nurses and health care workers bonuses as a way to help retain employees in an industry plagued by burnout.
In addition, Newsom wants to spend $57 million to increase reproductive healthcare access in California — including $40 million to help low- and middle-income residents without insurance obtain abortion care.
Newsom has been a staunch advocate for abortion rights. He’s defended abortion access even more fiercely since Politico published a draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion that showed justices are on the verge of overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that guaranteed federal abortion rights.
After the draft opinion leaked, Newsom joined legislative leaders in calling for an abortion rights amendment to the California constitution.
With states set to govern abortion access, Newsom has also been vocal about wanting California to welcome pregnant people seeking abortions in states that ban the procedure.
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