GOVERNMENT RELATIONS


budget proposal – $153 billion of which comes from the General Fund and the rest from special funds and the federal government – is now the largest expenditure proposal in state history. Often touted as the world’s fifth


largest economy, California’s budget must now be negotiated and ratified by the California Legislature by June 15th of this year. Governor Newsom regaled the budget and his leadership of California as a “nation state” during the nearly three-hour press conference announcing the 2020-21 budget.


Flush with Taxpayer Revenues Building upon the strong fiscal


California to Deliberate Record High Budget G


By Felipe Fuentes, AGC Legislative Advocate


ov. Newsom released his second state budget on January 10, 2020. Te $222.2 billion


footing he inherited from Gov. Brown, Gov. Newsom has continued his pledge to use one-time expenditures to buy down some of the state’s debt as well as filling the “rainy day” fund. Te state’s emergency reserve


funds, by the end of the fiscal year and start of summer 2021, will reach nearly $18 billion. Tese record-setting revenues mark the 11th year of Califor- nia’s economic growth and expansion. Having increased its economic output compared to the rest of the country by 2.6 percent from last year, California is predicted to continue to outpace the rest of the nation, according to the UCLA Anderson School forecast. And economists have lessened the chances of a recession to hit the country between now and the end of this year to less than a 20 percent chance. Tis is all good news for an ambitious and


currently popular governor. As for ongoing


programmatic expenditures, the governor’s budget proposal makes predictable increases to ongoing expen- ditures like education and healthcare services. Te governor, however, proposes to spend considerable taxpayer dollars on new programs not typically in the state’s purview – such as the proposal for the state to become a pharmaceutical dispenser. In what would be a first-in-the-


nation effort, Newsom proposes that a state-run program which markets and sells generic drug prescriptions


Continued on page 6


Expert Craftsmanship and a Relationship You Can Count On.


Cement Masons Locals 500 & 600 signatory contractors are among the highest profile, reputable and successful firms in Southern California. Our workforce represents the most highly trained and competent craftspeople in the concrete industry. Our relationship together can assist in your company’s value and growth. If that doesn’t convince you, maybe this will.


We help level your playing field with:   


Your workforce is trained in:    


Contact us and we will show you how we have assisted others like you to create growth and 


Southern California Cement Masons LMCC  


DEPARTMENTS


www.AGC-CA.org


Associated General Contractors of California 5


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