California Lawmakers Advance Budget Plan Amid Cuts, Federal Funding Concerns

California state lawmakers took action on the state budget in 2026 as part of ongoing negotiations with Governor Gavin Newsom ahead of a final agreement. Reports describe two distinct legislative sessions: one in mid-May in which lawmakers reduced or eliminated proposed new spending programs following Newsom's earlier budget proposal, and another in mid-June in which legislators approved a joint legislative budget plan setting the stage for final talks with the governor. In the June proceedings, Democratic legislators reportedly rejected Newsom's proposed cuts to in-home care hours and sought to delay reductions to dental benefits, according to ABC10. CalMatters reported that in May, lawmakers cut various new spending proposals put forward by colleagues while Newsom was presenting his own two-year balanced budget proposal elsewhere in the Capitol. Both reports indicate that anticipated federal funding changes, including reductions tied to federal policy under the Trump administration, were cited as a factor influencing state budget decisions. The two reports, published roughly a month apart, are not fully reconciled as to whether they describe the same legislative action or sequential stages of the same budget process. It remains unresolved whether the specific spending cuts described by CalMatters in May are part of the same package referenced by ABC10 in June's legislative budget plan. Final budget negotiations between the legislature and Governor Newsom had not concluded as of the most recent reporting, and the ultimate fate of proposed cuts to in-home care hours, dental benefits, and other spending items remains undetermined.