Middle Class To Bear Brunt Of California's Budget Cuts

By Emily Hoeven, from CalMatters:

Middle-class families will likely bear the brunt of budget cuts under an agreement reached by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature to patch the state’s $54 billion deficit, while the neediest Californians are largely spared.

Unless the federal government supplies billions of dollars in aid by Oct. 1, state employee salaries will be slashed by 10% and the University of California and California State University systems will take a combined $602 million hit — likely leading to an eventual tuition hike on families who don’t qualify for financial aid, CalMatters’ Laurel Rosenhall reports.

• Audrey Dow of the Campaign for College Opportunity: “The UC and CSU are going to be forced to balance their budget on the backs of talented qualified students … at a time when families can least afford it.”

However, California’s K-12 schools and community colleges will not suffer most of the cuts Newsom proposed last month. And Calbright, the state’s online-only community college, will live to see another day despite demands from lawmakers to cut its funding entirely.

Other important takeaways:

• Key health and social service programs were preserved, including dental benefits for Medi-Cal patients and adult day programs that help keep low-income seniors out of nursing homes.
• Homeless programs were largely spared from cuts.
• Gone: A proposal to expand Medi-Cal health coverage to undocumented seniors, though the state plans to do so in the future.
• Included: A $65 million tax break for low-income undocumented workers with a child under age 6.

“This is a multiyear framework,” Newsom said Monday. “We have a lot of work to do over the next few years.”Tips, insight or feedback? Email emily@calmatters.org.

Follow me on Twitter: @emily_hoeven

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