Senate Budget Vice Chair Roger Niello and Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones have voiced criticism of Governor Gavin Newsom’s newly released 2026-2027 budget proposal, saying it fails to address California’s financial challenges.
Senator Niello described the budget as failing to deliver significant progress despite increased spending. “This budget proposal feels as though the state is running in place,” said Senator Niello. “The state is spending more without achieving meaningful progress. Instead of setting clear priorities or making strategic investments to address the huge deficit, it perpetuates the status quo, leaving critical needs unmet. Californians are tired of running in place and never feeling like they can catch up.”
California currently faces a structural deficit, meaning that annual expenditures outpace revenue—a situation lawmakers say must be addressed directly.
Senate Minority Leader Jones was also critical of Governor Newsom’s approach. “This is more of the same from a lame-duck governor content on leaving the rest of us to pick up the financial pieces when he leaves office,” said Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones. “This is a man who has demonstrated recklessness and irresponsibility in every year in his budgeting practices and I’m disappointed, but not surprised, to see that continued today. We’ll be fighting this proposal and working to advance an alternative that puts the people first, prioritizes Prop. 36 funding, education, essential services and avoids the fiscal ruin he’s so dead set on saddling us with.”
Governor Newsom’s current budget will be his last in office. Since taking office, general fund spending by the state has risen by 77%.
Jones concluded: “Governor Newsom has treated this budget like his personal gift bag – giving away hard-earned taxpayer dollars without a thought to the consequences or structure of where it’s going,” Jones concluded. “Yet I would ask every Californian: has your life improved in this same time?”
