California Today: Jerry Brown Warns of Recession and Reveals His Final Budget
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Version 0 of 1. Good morning. (Want to get California Today by email? Here’s the sign-up.) Gov. Jerry Brown moved to bolster California’s “rainy day” fund Wednesday when he unveiled the final budget proposal of his administration in Sacramento, asking the Legislature not to take the state’s economic stability for granted, while also deflecting questions about his legacy. His message centered on a warning: “What’s out there is darkness, uncertainty, decline and recession. So good luck, baby,” he said with a smile. Flanked by blown-up cardboard graphs, he predicted that his successors would probably face an economic recession in the near future and said he was determined to minimize the damage. The $132 billion budget plan centered heavily on infusing the emergency fund with $5 billion in the coming fiscal year — bringing the total stash to $13.5 billion — in order to prevent layoffs and soften other painful budget cuts in a downturn. He and his team said the progress California has made since 2011, when it was teetering on the edge of financial catastrophe, is more reason to double-down on the emergency fund. Today the state has a $6.1 billion surplus. “Yes, we have had some very good years and program spending has steadily increased,” reads his opening message in the budget. “Let’s not blow it now.” There are several obstacles facing the governor before his term expires. Namely, brewing clashes with Republicans in Washington — over immigration, health care, and state and local tax deductions. Those could throw curveballs at the state’s budget in the years to come. Governor Brown hesitated to say California was at “war” with Washington during a question-and-answer session with reporters. But he acknowledged the Republican tax plan that passed through Congress last month will mean some high-income earners in California will be tempted to leave the state. “If we have a rainy-day fund, and if people don’t move out of the state who have a lot of money, things will be O.K.,” he said. And his legacy? What about it? “Can you tell me the legacy of Goodwin Knight? Or Governor Merriam? Or Deukmejian? Governors don’t have legacies, that’s my No. 1 proposition,” he said. “Look, we have a whole political system that judges our executives by the state of the economy, over which they have virtually no impact. So, you figure it out.” More coverage: • The proposed budget calls for $4.6 billion in spending on California’s transportation infrastructure, reports The Los Angeles Times. • The governor’s proposed budget would boost education funding, wrote Capital Public Radio, including $570 million for community colleges. • Some Republicans, reported the San Francisco Chronicle, said the state’s $6.1 billion in revenue should go back to taxpayers. • George Skelton: In his last budget, Governor Brown ties up loose ends and gives himself some protection. But there is a “stench of hypocrisy here too.” • Unlike his predecessors, Governor Brown is poised to leave office without major budget deficits, writes The Wall Street Journal. (Please note: We regularly highlight articles on news sites that have limited access for nonsubscribers.) • The death count in Southern California reached 17 following intense rains and mudslides. [The New York Times] • Nearly 100 homes were destroyed and an additional 300 were damaged by mudslides. [The Los Angeles Times] • cellphone alerts were not sent to Santa Barbara County residents until after flooding had already begun. [The Los Angeles Times] • Representative Darrell Issa, a Southern California Republican who is chairman of the House Oversight Committee, will not seek re-election. [The New York Times] • The spate of Republican retirements from Congress is making some party strategists jittery. [Politico] • Many residents in areas hit by the mudslides in Southern California had chosen not to heed evacuation requests. [The Associated Press] • President Trump attacked “Sneaky” Senator Dianne Feinstein on Twitter Wednesday for publishing the Fusion GPS transcript. [Politico] • The director of the California Water Resources Department was replaced after a critical report blamed last year’s Oroville Dam crisis, in part, on a lax safety culture. [The Los Angeles Times] • New economy: Marijuana dispensaries have run into supply issues stocking edible products. [The Sacramento Bee] Monica Ramirez, an activist and lawyer, said she never expected to one day walk the red carpet at the Golden Globes alongside Hollywood’s brightest stars. Her fight for Hispanic farmworkers, and in particular women in those jobs who face harassment, isn’t the clearest path to a celebrity awards ceremony. But the #MeToo moment has formed new friendships and alliances, between powerful actresses seizing the moment and empowered activists who have given decades of their lives to fight for change. Ms. Ramirez, who accompanied the actress Laura Dern, began working on behalf of women farmworkers decades ago, first in college and then later as a lawyer; she co-founded and is president of the Alianza Nacional de Campesinas. She praised Ms. Dern and others for using their platform to shine a light on women’s advocacy across industries. “It was an incredible and very powerful experience. That was a lot of love in the room, on the red carpet, for our community, for what we represent,” Ms. Ramirez said. “But this is not just one moment that happened on the red carpet. It’s a movement that’s built on the work we’ve been doing for decades in this country.” California Today goes live at 6 a.m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: CAtoday@nytimes.com. California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from U.C. Berkeley. |