Newsom Floats $100 Billion Recovery Plan in Pre-Recall Budget

California Governor Gavin Newsom, battling an effort to oust him in a recall election, proposed a 19% increase in spending for the next fiscal year as he seeks to plow an unprecedented tax windfall back into the economy.

His $196.8 billion budget includes $600 checks to low- and middle-income residents, money to help renters in some of the country’s most expensive housing markets and funds to tackle a surge in homelessness in Los Angeles and San Francisco, where the proliferation of sprawling camps have become a top issue for voters. With federal stimulus dollars added to the windfall, schools, transportation and emergency preparedness initiatives would all see spending increases. Pay cuts and salary freezes for state employees would end.