California鈥檚 budget crunch is forcing the Legislature to scale back its agenda this session, with bills to legalize psychedelic therapy, offer reparations to the descendants of enslaved people, and require more transparency around who is paying for lawmakers鈥� sponsored travel among the early carnage.
Facing over the next two years, leaders of the Legislature鈥檚 appropriations committees said Thursday that they had to make especially difficult decisions as they held or amended hundreds of proposals with a significant cost during the biannual culling process 鈥� though most of the bills in each committee still passed.
鈥淭he budget had a huge impact on what we did,鈥� state Sen. , a Salinas Democrat who leads Senate appropriations, told CalMatters. 鈥淲e were trying to keep costs down and really trying to live within our means.鈥�
Of the , 87 鈥� or about 25.5% 鈥� were held, in line with the average over the past decade. But another 121 were amended, even as they advanced to the floor ahead of a crucial deadline next Friday for measures to pass their house of origin.
鈥淎uthors were asked to amend their bills to take out the more expensive stuff,鈥� Caballero said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have the money.鈥�
The Assembly鈥檚 appropriations committee held 233 of the , or about 34.5% 鈥� slightly higher than last May, .
Those included Assembly Bill 2751 by Assemblymember , a San Francisco Democrat, that would have barred employers from , and AB 2808 by Assemblymember , an Oakland Democrat who chairs the committee, which would have from being able to exclusively resell event tickets.
鈥淲e have an obligation to balance the budget here in California 鈥� we can鈥檛 go into debt,鈥� Wicks told reporters after the hearing, where she killed another attempt to establish a in California, a policy she has supported in the past. 鈥淲e needed to be responsible with taxpayers鈥� money, so that鈥檚 why we had to make some tough calls today.鈥�
Assemblymember , who authored the single-payer bill, said after , he was confident it would have passed the Assembly.
鈥淚 am deeply disappointed the Assembly Appropriations Committee failed to recognize the significant cost-saving potential of AB 2200,鈥� he said in a statement. 鈥淪tudy after study has shown that a single-payer system will not only cost less than our current system, but can safeguard the State from future deficits while stimulating economic growth.鈥�
Both Caballero and Wicks are newly in charge of their respective committees this year, overseeing their first suspense file hearings as the state is working through how to close a massive deficit.
Gov. Gavin Newsom last week to address the looming shortfall, estimated at $56 billion over the next two fiscal years 鈥� and more by legislative finance officials 鈥� even after he and lawmakers .
With more than $30 billion in cuts to education, public health, environmental and other programs on the line, Newsom is likely to have little appetite this year for pricey new legislation. He has already urged discipline over the past two sessions, as California鈥檚 finances softened, vetoing dozens of bills that he said would add unaccounted costs to the budget.
The suspense file, where all legislation with a major fiscal impact is considered concurrently and dispensed within a rapid-fire hearing, has also long provided the Legislature with an easier way to kill controversial or undesirable bills.
Caballero refused to discuss any of her specific decisions, citing only cost considerations, including shelving Senate Bill 1012, which would have . Newsom vetoed a broader decriminalization of psychedelics last year and supporters hoped their focus on therapy would provide a path forward.
鈥淧sychedelics have massive promise in helping people heal and get their lives back on track,鈥� Sen. , a San Francisco Democrat who carried the bill, said in a statement. 鈥淚鈥檓 highly committed to this issue, and we鈥檒l continue to work on expanding access to psychedelics.鈥�
The Senate also killed SB 1422, a transparency measure to about who is paying for legislators鈥� sponsored travel.
The bill, from Sen. , a Santa Monica Democrat, followed a 2015 law, requiring the organizers of these legislative trips to annually disclose their major donors, had only been used twice, despite interest groups paying for millions of dollars in travel for lawmakers during that time. Allen鈥檚 measure aimed to tighten the eligibility criteria for reporting.
His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On the same day that the Assembly passed a bill requiring California to apologize for its role in perpetuating slavery, the Senate appropriations committee held two other measures that would have to the descendants of enslaved people: SB 1007, a , and SB 1013, a .
Both were carried by Sen. , an Inglewood Democrat and member of the state reparations task force, who has been critical of legislative efforts that he says do not go far enough to address systemic inequities. Several other proposals of his, including SB 1403 to establish a state agency that would , continue to advance.
鈥淚n the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, you need to accept finite disappointment but have infinite hope,鈥� Bradford told reporters following the hearing. 鈥淲e have a good foundation to work from.鈥�
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