California Assembly Meets as Rare Committee to Question Newsom's Budget

The California Assembly met in an extraordinary session Tuesday to question Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration about its plan to fill an estimated $54.3 billion budget deficit created by the effects of the coronavirus.

It marked the first time in 25 years that the Assembly gathered as a so-called "committee of the whole."
Normally, when the Assembly meets, no one is allowed to speak except lawmakers. But this time, lawmakers will hear testimony from Newsom administration officials and ask them questions.

Lawmakers gathered in the ornate Assembly chamber on Tuesday wearing masks and staying at least 6 feet away from each other.

"We must act in the face of limitations that surround us everywhere we look," Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, said.

The state Legislature recessed on March 16 because of the coronavirus, its first unscheduled work stoppage in 158 years. Lawmakers missed nearly two months of work — time they would have normally spent vetting the governor's spending proposal.

When lawmakers returned to work earlier this month, they were handed a completely new budget that included billions in spending cuts to public education, health care and environmental protections.

Rendon said the compressed timeline is why he decided to call everyone together for a giant committee meeting on Tuesday.

"This kind of gives everybody an opportunity to get a bunch of information in the same room and also to kind of learn from one another," he said.

Read the full story from The Associated Press.