At the eleventh hour, CA has a budget

Gov. Brown signed a budget today – the final day of California’s fiscal year.  The $85.9 billion spending plan does not add any additional cuts to Health and Human Services, but slashes deeper into higher education. 

The state legislature and Gov. Brown approved the majority of cuts to the 2011-2012 budget last March, including a $1.5 billion reduction in Medi-Cal spending, a nearly $1 billion cut in welfare-to-work and a $178 million reduction in SSI/SSP payments to low-income elderly and disabled.

The state cut the University of California and California State University systems by an additional $150 million – on top of the $500 million each back in March – which will result in tuition hikes. Community college fees also increased by $10 per unit.

Brown failed to garner Republican support in time for extending taxes on sales and vehicles, and they will expire tomorrow.  However, he has vowed to pursue a ballot initiative this fall, asking voters to reinstate those temporary tax hikes in order to generate state revenue – and prevent additional cuts to crucial programs and services for the needy.