Newsom Fields Criticism on May Revise Budget

Sen. Melendez criticizes Newsom’s May Revise Budget

California Governor Gavin Newsom promises sweeping change in his $267 billion budget proposal — called the “California Comeback Plan — for 2021-2022. The Governor’s office calls this May Revise budget “the biggest economic recovery package in California history.”

Not everyone is buying in, especially Republican state Senator Melissa Melendez.

In the budget proposal — informally referred to as the “May Revise” — Newsom leverages the $75.7 billion budget windfall to fund programs to cut down on the unhoused population in the state, rebuilding the state’s behavioral health system, funding for the CalAIM initiative and other programs designed to help the state recover from the pandemic.

In a press conference Friday, Newsom announced a total homelessness package of $12 billion. He said this investment is an effort to rebuild the behavioral health system dismantled over decades, which has caused part of the current homelessness crisis in the state.

Newsom said he hopes this plan will help get more than 65,000 people off the streets or avoid homelessness. The May Revise also comes with new accountability measures to help the state ensure local governments are spending the money effectively. Local governments will be able to use targeted grants and programs to move people out of encampments and into housing.

The governor said that he hopes these investments will help California end family homelessness within five years.

The revised budget includes the highest level of funding for the public school system in California with $93.7 billion. Of that, $3 billion will go towards making thousands of public schools full-service community schools.

Sen. Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, who has often criticized the governor,  was once again ready to pounce.

“As California continues to recover from the brutal economic crisis caused by the pandemic, I find it fiscally irresponsible to blowout the spending proposed by the May Revise,” Melendez said in a prepared statement.  Governor Newsom is relying on unsustainable borrowing and misguided revenue projections to support his half a trillion dollars in spending.  Even the Legislative Analyst’s Office warned the Legislature to be cautious and not trust the Governor’s rosy outlooks and fuzzy math contributing to this one-time windfall.  Moreover, every Californian should see the benefits of a surplus – not just the people selected by the Governor to receive recall rebates.  Using this boost in revenues to benefit all Californians include, at a minimum, fixing the DMV by overhauling its outdated technology system or rebuilding the black abyss of the EDD. It’s been more than 400 days since the Governor took sole control over the affairs of our state with the majority party allowing him to spend state dollars unchecked.  As warnings of inflation are on the horizon, Californians need truthful fiscal responsibility not more recklessness.”

Melendez represents the 28th Senate District which is entirely encompassed in Riverside County and includes the cities of Blythe, Canyon Lake, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, Lake Elsinore, La Quinta, Murrieta, Temecula, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, and Wildomar.