California Governor: Expect Budget Gap in ‘Tens of Billions’

California Governor Gavin Newsom said the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic has left the state with a budget deficit that will reach into the “tens of billions” of dollars in the coming fiscal year.

Newsom, a first-term Democrat, is scheduled to revise his budget proposal by May 14 with the latest estimates on revenue and spending. In January, he proposed a $153 billion general-fund budget that increased spending by about 2% from the current year that ends June 30 and socked away about $5 billion more into rainy day funds.