Legislators Eye Budget Talks as Opportunity to Reassert Authority

California legislators began their review of Gov. Gavin Newsom's revised budget proposal this week, publicly grappling with the tough choices facing state government in the face of an economic collapse brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

After watching the governor guide the state through the first two months of the coronavirus crisis, state lawmakers have an opportunity to reassert their authority in the budget process — and push back against proposals they perceive as overreaches.

In hearings and interviews, lawmakers have bristled at pieces of Newsom's May Revise budget, unveiled last week, that they say grant the executive branch ongoing control over certain spending decisions.

"It’s just crazy," said state Sen. Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont. "If we didn’t have a pandemic, it would be really crazy. But it’s crazy for me that we’re using that excuse to say, 'We don’t need the Legislature, you just tag along.' Not me, I’m not doing it."

In March, the Legislature approved $1.1 billion in coronavirus emergency spending and then adjourned — giving Newsom wide latitude to respond to the evolving crisis.

The administration purchased medical equipment, protective gear, emergency housing, food supplies and more — striking sweeping deals for items like masks, that, in some cases, fell through.

Legislators remained largely on the sidelines, at home in their districts, providing little public input during a historic moment for the state.

Now, lawmakers seem reluctant to continue that deference, as was evident during a Senate Budget Committee hearing Monday, where a Newsom proposal to create a new $2.9 billion COVID-19 contingency fund for the executive branch drew criticism.

"We fully appreciate the need for the administration to be nimble and be empowered to respond in a timely manner for the crisis," committee Chair Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, told administration officials at Monday's hearing. "But I think it's very important that the administration find a way to balance your ability to respond timely with acknowledging the role the Legislature must play to partner with you to make decisions that are in the best interest of all Californians."

The Newsom administration emphasized that it would have to be prepared to respond quickly to a potential second COVID-19 outbreak in the fall.

"This is a once-in-a-century emergency and nobody really knows how it's going to go," Vivek Viswanathan, the Department of Finance's chief deputy director for budget, told lawmakers.

Wieckowski, who chairs the budget subcommittee that oversees resources and transportation, said the administration's push for spending authority extends beyond the coronavirus response.

He pointed to the governor's proposal detailing spending priorities for money raised from California's cap-and-trade system, in which companies buy and sell pollution credits in order to release emissions. More than half of the cap-and-trade revenues are already earmarked; Newsom wants to prioritize the remaining funds for improving air quality in disadvantaged neighborhoods, preventing forest fires and increasing access to safe drinking water.

Wieckowski suggested the Legislature would become a mere rubber stamp for the spending.

"He wants to determine how he wants to spend the discretionary [funds] and he’ll have his staff send us a memo after they make the decision," said Wieckowski, who has long advocated for spending cap-and-trade dollars in areas that more directly reduce carbon emissions. "I’m flipping out, I’m saying, 'Are you kidding me?' "

Other disagreements that emerged during committee hearings this week fall along more traditional lines of spending disputes, albeit with the added pressure that comes as the state faces tens of billions of dollars of revenue losses.

State Assembly members on Tuesday took aim at cuts to programs for seniors and the disabled that they say will push more Californians into nursing homes that have become coronavirus hotspots.

And lawmakers reviewing the state's education budget, the largest proposed source for cuts, said the administration's idea for a flat 10% cut to various programs wouldn't be a fair way to distribute the pain.

"Literally, a 10% cut for some of these child care centers would put them out of business," said Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, adding that it would be easier for the University of California system to weather a similar reduction.

And the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office has questioned the Newsom's budget math — projecting that the actual deficit is between $18 and $31 billion, not the $54 billion hole the administration suggests.

As he unveiled his budget last week, Newsom expressed a willingness to compromise with the Legislature in a budget environment drastically different from his first year in office — when the two branches negotiated over how to spend a surplus of more than $20 billion.

"We want everybody, in the spirit of collaboration and cooperation, to put their ideas on the table, and know that we’re not going to dismiss any idea out of hand," Newsom said. "We want to be able to be considerate, thoughtful and collaborative, and that’s my commitment to the Legislature."

But if history is any guide, the Legislature may be picking a difficult avenue to flex their muscle, as the budget process is largely driven by the governor, who lays the foundation for negotiations with the spending proposals he rolls out in January and May.

And in recent years, Newsom and his predecessor, Jerry Brown, succeeded in convincing the Legislature to accept their (generally lower) estimate of state revenues — the cornerstone of the final budget agreement.

"It's the place where the governor is the most powerful," state Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, told KQED last year.

"Governors get 99% of what they want in the budget," said Glazer, who worked in the Brown administration before joining the Legislature. "And as much as we in the Legislature may think we can change that, it's really on the margins."

Legislators will continue to review Newsom's budget proposal in hearings through the holiday weekend and into next week. The Assembly is taking the rare step of gathering all members to meet next Tuesday to weigh in on the state's spending plan. And the Senate is planning to have their own budget plan by next Thursday, leaving just over three weeks for the two houses to come to an agreement with Newsom by the June 15 deadline.

Other lawmakers are pushing to curb Newsom's authority in areas beyond state spending.

On Tuesday, Assembly members Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, and James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, introduced a resolution to end the special powers granted to Newsom after he declared a state of emergency in March.

"There's been an abdication of responsibility by the Legislature," Kiley said last week on KQED's "Political Breakdown."