California’s Surplus Tempts Democrats to Spend as Jerry Brown Resists
The surplus is fleeting and the money should be banked, the governor says.
California Gov. Jerry Brown speaks during a bill signing event at the Leland Stanford Mansion on May 19, 2015 in Sacramento, California.
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California Governor Jerry Brown has a tight fist when it comes to the budget. His fellow Democrats are pushing him to loosen his grip as state coffers overflow with billions in extra cash.
The Democrats, who control both chambers of the statehouse, are drafting a budget that spends more than the record $115 billion Brown proposed in May. To boost funding for childcare and other programs for the poor, they cite a revenue projection from California’s fiscal analyst that is $3.1 billion higher than Brown’s estimate.