Legislature sends bills finalizing budget to Gov. Jerry Brown
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The California Legislature passed some of the last remaining parts of the state budget on Wednesday, sending them to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature.
Brown is expected to approve the budget and related legislation later in the day, before his midnight deadline. The spending plan will take effect on July 1.
Although lawmakers passed a budget on June 15 to meet their constitutional deadline and continue collecting their paychecks, negotiations continued on issues like social services, college funding and healthcare for poor children.
The bills passed on Wednesday finalize details in those areas, and brings the budget to $91.5 billion, a shade larger than the proposal Brown introduced in May and smaller than the plan approved by the Legislature earlier this month.
Total spending can still be pared down if Brown decides to use his line-item veto. The reserve fund stands at $788 million now.
Republicans have harshly criticized the budget, saying it has been secretly negotiated by Democrats.
‘If this is the vision the majority party has for California, God help this state,’ state Sen. Bill Emmerson (R-Hemet) said on the Senate floor.
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-- Chris Megerian in Sacramento
