Commentary
The most important California government document every year is the governor’s January budget proposal. The one for fiscal year 2023-24, which begins on July 1, will be released next week by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The January budget sets the tables for budget negotiations lasting until the governor’s May Revision—the “May Revise” in Sacramento parlance. Then there’s a sprint to pass budget bills before the June 15 deadline in the California Constitution.
When the money is flowing copiously into the treasury, as in the past decade, it’s easy for the Legislature and governor to haggle over items and meet the deadline. I remember when Gov. Gray Davis pushed his first budget through the Legislature just minutes after midnight on June 15, 1999, so technically in violation of the Constitution, and he quipped, “Good enough for government work!”…