Thursday, May 30, 2024

Yesterday, the Senate and the Assembly released their proposed Joint Legislative Budget Plan for the state’s 2024-25 budget. This proposal is a response to the Governor’s 2024-25 May Revision budget proposal, released on Tuesday, May 14 and represents the Legislature’s starting proposal in their negotiation with the Governor’s Administration on a final Budget.

Notably, some components of the Legislature’s budget proposal align with requests made by CSAC to legislative leadership, including a $1 billion appropriation for Round 6 of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) program and rejecting numerous proposed cuts to health and human services programs (CSAC letters to Senate and Assembly leadership). Further commentary on the Legislature’s budget plan for all policy areas is included in the CSAC bulletin.

The budget development process is far from over. In the coming days, negotiations to develop the final 2024 Budget Act agreement between the Legislature and the Governor will intensify against the backdrop of the upcoming constitutional deadline for the Legislature to pass the budget bill by June 15. 

To this end, CSAC legislative staff are committed to partnering with the Legislature to balance the state budget in the interest of California’s vulnerable populations and to preserve core services. CSAC is communicating to lawmakers that now is not the time to pull back on the commitment to these programs, but rather to maintain and strengthen our investments. The Legislature must hold the line and reject cuts to vital funding for county administered programs and services that vulnerable Californians rely on every day.

To receive a template letter to submit to legislative leadership and budget committees in both houses to express how your county will be impacted by the Joint Legislative Budget Plan, please contact Jessica Sankus, CSAC Principal Fiscal and Policy Analyst, at jsankus@counties.org.

Notable proposals in the Health and Human Services policy area included in the Joint Legislative Budget Plan include the following:

Health and Behavioral Health:

• Public Health Investments: The Legislature’s Budget Plan rejects the Governor’s May Revision proposal to reduce and eliminate the $300 million ongoing funding dedicated to supporting state and local health departments’ investments in workforce, infrastructure, and infectious disease control.
• Behavioral Health Transformation (BHT) – County Behavioral Health Departments: The Legislature’s Budget Plan approves the Governor’s May Revision proposal to provide initial funding of $85 million in 2024-25 for counties to begin implementation of changes as a result of the passage of Proposition 1 (Behavioral Health Services Act).
• Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BCHIP): The Legislature’s Budget Plan reject’s the Governor’s May Revision proposal to revert funding for the final round of BHCIP. Instead, the Plan proposes to restore and delay General Fund resources until utilization of all Proposition 1 Bond funds. This essentially results in a fund shift resulting in near-term General Fund savings through 2026-27.
• Managed Care Organization (MCO) Tax Investments: The Legislature’s Budget Plan rejects the Governor’s May Revision Proposal to eliminate over $2.4 billion in new rate increases and health investments scheduled to take place on January 1, 2025. Instead, the Plan proposes to delay most of these rate increases and investments by one year, adjust some new investments, and start some of the MCO rate enhancements in 2025.
• Safety Net Reserves: The Legislature’s Budget Plan modifies the Governor’s January Budget to drawn down $900 million from the Safety Net Reserve. Rather, the Plan proposes to withdraw $450 million.

Human Services:

• CalWORKs Single Allocation Eligibility Administration: The Legislature’s Budget Plan proposes to reject the Governor’s January Budget proposal to reduce funding for Single Allocation Eligibility Administration by $40.8 million ongoing.
• CalWORKs Single Allocation Employment Services: The Legislature’s Budget Plan proposes to reject the Governor’s May Revision proposal of a one-time reduction of $272 million for the Employment Services component of the CalWORKs Single Allocation in 2024-25.
• CalWORKs Family Stabilization: The Legislature’s Budget Plan proposes to reject the Governor’s January Budget Proposal to eliminate all funding for CalWORKs Family Stabilization.
• CalWORKs Expanded Subsidized Employment: The Legislature’s Budget Plan proposes to reject the Governor’s January Budget Proposal to eliminate all program funding. Instead, the Plan proposes to reduce funding by $30 million in 2023-24 and $37 million in 2024-25.
• CalWORKs Home Visiting Program: The Legislature’s Budget Plan proposes to reject the Governor’s May Revision Proposal to reduce funding for this program by $47 million ongoing. Instead, the Plan proposes to reduce funding for the program by $30 million in 2023-24 and temporarily reduce by $25 million in 2024-25 and 2025-26.
• CalWORKs Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services: The Legislature’s Budget Plan proposes to reject the Governor’s May Revision Proposal to eliminate this program. Instead, the Plan proposes to reduce funding by $30 million in 2023-24, $37 million in 204-25, and $26 million in 2025-26.
• Child Care Slot Expansion: The Legislature’s Budget Plan proposes to reject the Governor’s proposal to reduce funding for and pause the expansion of subsidized child care slots. Instead, the Plan proposes to restore funding for approximately 11,000 funded slots awarded this year and enact a two-year pause for the remaining child care slots, keeping the goal to reach 200,000 new subsidized slots.
• Child Care Bridge Expansion Program: The Legislature’s Budget Plan proposes to reject the Governor’s May Revision Proposal to reduce funding for Emergency Child Care Bridge Program by $34.8 million. Rather, the Plan proposes to revert and reappropriate unspent funds to keep funding for the program level at $83.4 million ongoing.
• CalFresh Minimum Nutrition Benefit Pilot: The Legislature’s Budget Plan proposes to reject the Governor’s May Revision Proposal to eliminate $15 million in 2024-25 for a pilot program to supplement some households CalFresh benefits from $23 per month to $50 per month.
• Foster Care Rate Reform: The Legislature’s Budget Plan rejects the Governor’s May Revision proposal to make the new foster care rate structure subject to a trigger based on available funding in spring 2026. The Plan also proposes to adopt placeholder trailer bill language for a new permanent foster care rate structure, with changes to add milestones toward implementation, reporting back to the Legislature, and reflect stakeholder feedback.
• Foster Care Caregiver Approvals: The Legislature’s Budget Plan rejects the Governor’s May Revision proposal to eliminate $50 million ongoing for county child welfare agencies to complete approvals for foster caregivers.
• Family Urgent Response System (FURS): The Legislature’s Budget Plan rejects the Governor’s January Budget proposal to eliminate $30 million ongoing for FURS.
• Supervised Independent Living Program (SILP) Supplement: The Legislature’s Budget Plan proposes to accept the Governor’s January Budget proposal to eliminate funding for a housing supplement for youth placed in SILP, indicating that SILP rates will be addressed in the foster care permanent rate structure.
• Bringing Families Home: The Legislature’s Budget Plan modifies the Governor’s May Revision proposal to cut $80 million for the program. Instead, the Plan proposes to delay $40 million to 2025-26 and $40 million to 2026-27.
• Home Safe: The Legislature’s Budget Plan rejects the Governor’s May Revision proposal to cut $65 million in Home Safe funding.
• Housing and Disability Advocacy Program (HDAP): The Legislature’s Budget Plan proposes to approve the Governor’s May Revision proposal to cut $50 million in HDAP funding.
• Adult Protective Services Expansion: The Legislature’s Budget Plan rejects the Governor’s May Revision proposal to reduce $40 million ongoing for APS Expansion.
• Adult Protective Services Training: The Legislature’s Budget Plan rejects the Governor’s May Revision proposal to eliminate $4.8 million ongoing for APS training.
• In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Regardless of Immigration Status: The Legislature’s Budget Plan proposes to reject the Governor’s May Revision proposal to rescind the delivery of IHSS to eligible clients who would otherwise be ineligible due to their immigration status.
• IHSS Backup Provider System: The Legislature’s Budget Plan rejects the Governor’s May Revision proposal to eliminate the IHSS Permanent Backup Provider System. Rather, the Plan proposes to reduce funding by $3 million in 2024-25 to account for lower utilization.
• Medi-Cal County Administration Increase Freeze: The Legislature’s Budget Plan proposes to approve the Governor’s May Revision proposal to pause funding increases for county Medi-Cal eligibility administration. However, the Legislature proposes trailer bill language to resume annual increases beginning in 2028-29.
• Local Child Support Agency Funding: The Legislature’s Budget Plan proposes to reduce $10 million in 2024-25 and ongoing from local child support agency funding that has been historically unspent.  
• Child Support Full Pass-Through: The Legislature’s Budget Plan proposes to adopt Supplemental Report Language related to infrastructure and other components necessary to implement the full pass-through of child support to families currently receiving CalWORKs.
• Older Californians Act Senior Nutrition: The Legislature’s Budget Plan proposes to rejects the Governor’s May Revision proposal to eliminate Older Californians Act Modernization funding for senior nutrition by $37.2 million in 2024-25, 2025-26, and 2026-27.

Homelessness:

• Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) Program Round 6: The Legislature’s Budget Plan proposes to allocate $1 billion from the 2024-25 General Fund for a Round 6 of HHAP and proposes to adopt placeholder trailer bill language to govern the administration of funds. The proposed trailer bill language will seek to further strengthen accountability mechanisms, direct some funding for prevention, clarify the eligible uses of HHAP funding, and make technical and conforming changes to HHAP Rounds 3-5.
• HHAP Round 5 Supplement Funding: The Legislature’s Budget Plan proposes to accept the Governor’s May Revision proposal to cut $260 million HHAP supplemental funding from previous HHAP rounds and revert back to the General Fund.  

Please contact Justin Garrett (jgarrett@counties.org), Jolie Onodera (jonodera@counties.org), or Danielle Bradley (dbradley@counties.org) with any questions.