Proposed 2015-16 State Budget Summary

January 26, 2015
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2015-16 California State Budget Proposal Summary (Download)

General Fund Revenue and Expenditures

  • Governor proposes to spend $113.3 billion, an increase of 1.4% from 2014-15.
  • California received $2.4 billion more in 2014-15 than projected.

Proposition 2: Budget Stabilization Account

California voters approved Proposition 2 in November 2014, amending the California Constitution to revise the rules for the state’s Rainy Day Fund. Prop. 2 requires an annual set-aside equal to 1.5% of estimated General Fund revenues and an additional set-aside is required when capital gains revenues in a given year exceed 8% of General Fund tax revenues.

  • Governor proposes to set aside $2.4 billion for the Budget Stabilization account and debt repayment.

Health and Human Services

CalWORKs – Provides assistance for more than 1 million low-income children while parents receive work training, overcome barriers to employment, and find employment.

  • On April 1, 2015 Grants will increase 5% as determined by last year’s budget. This budget proposes no additional increases in CalWORKs grants.
  • Maximum monthly grant for a family of three is only $704.  This is less than half of the federal poverty level.
  • Fails to repeal the Maximum Family Grant, a discriminatory provision that denies assistance to new children in families that received benefits 10 months before the child’s birth.

Child care - Intended to help low-income parents find and keep jobs by providing safe and affordable child care and educational pre-schooling. 11,000 child care slots were added last year, but since 2008 cuts to the program have eliminated more than 110,000 child care and preschool slots.

  • Provides a Cost of Living Adjustment to maintain services and “slots” at 2014-15 levels.

In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) - Intended to help more than 400,000 low-income seniors and people with disabilities live in their own homes and avoid the need for expensive care in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

  • Proposal would end 2014’s 7% cut on service hours. Pending approval by the Legislature of a new tax on managed care organizations.
  • New rules and funding for IHSS providers overtime pay from 2014 are being delayed.
  • 2013 Federal Rules that mandated overtime pay for home care workers, including IHSS providers were put on hold by a federal court.

Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) - Provides income support to 1.3 million low-income seniors and people with disabilities to purchase food, housing, and other basic necessities.

  • Grants for SSI/SSP have been below the Federal Poverty Line since 2009
  • The state’s monthly SSP grant for individuals would remain at $156, down from $233 in 2009.
  • Since Cost of Living Adjustments were suspended in 2010 state funding for SSI/SSP cash assistance has fallen by more than 30 percent since 2007-08, after adjusting for inflation.

Medi-Cal - Provides basic health care services to low-income people. Medi-Cal enrollment is expected to rise to 12.2 million in 2015-16, about 30% of the state’s population. California currently ranks 49th in per-child Medicaid spending.

  • Maintains a 10% payment cut to Medi-Cal providers that began in 2014
  • Undocumented immigrants who benefit from President Obama’s recent actions on immigration will be eligible for state-funded Medi-Cal. However, funding has not been allocated for any expansion in coverage.

Higher Education

University of California and California State University-

  • Continues multiyear plan established in 2013-14 budget that provides modest increases in funding to avoid tuition increases. UC President Janet Napolitano has stated that the scheduled increase is not enough to avoid tuition increases.

Corrections and Rehabilitation

  • Corrections General Fund spending up 1.7% from $9.995 billion in 2014-15 to $10.16 billion in 2015-16.
  • Budget DOES NOT include estimated savings from the passage of Proposition 47.

Affordable and Sustainable Communities

  • Allocates $200 million for the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program

For more information on our work, please visit us at www.california-partnership.org.

California Partnership is a statewide coalition of community-based organizations that fights poverty in California. Through organizing and advocacy, we work together under common values at local, state, and national levels for policies and programs that reduce and end poverty.  For the full budget proposal please see http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/California Budget Project www.cbp.org

For additional questions please contact Jeff Brewer at [email protected], Pete Woiwode at [email protected]