Senator Richard Roth’s Statement on the Final 2020-2021 State Budget

Senator Richard Roth’s Statement on the Final 2020-2021 State Budget

(SACRAMENTO) – Senator Richard D. Roth (D-Riverside) issued the following statement regarding Governor Newsom’s signing of the 2020-21 State Budget:

“With the Governor’s action last night, California has established a framework for how the state will respond to the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This framework seeks to preserve vital programs for our children, as well as for the most vulnerable. This means avoiding deep cuts to education and health care services, while providing additional funding for homelessness.

Specifically, the 2020-21 Budget:

• Prevents $8.1 billion in cuts to K-14 education and provides an additional $5.3 billion in funding to K-12 schools to address learning loss;
• Preserves $33.3 million in ongoing funding for the Song-Brown Health Care Workforce program to train the next generation of primary care providers in our medically underserved region;
• Avoids $1.2 billion in cuts to supplemental payments for health providers that ensures appropriate access to quality health care;
• Maintains funding for child care and after school programs, recognizing the importance such programs will play in our state’s economic recovery; and,
• Provides $300 million to local jurisdictions to help combat homelessness.

“In addition, the budget allocates $25 million in ongoing funding to double enrollment at the UC Riverside School of Medicine. As the final step in our effort to bring a fully realized medical school to the region, this is huge victory and a testament to the decades of groundwork laid by community advocates.

“While this budget represents an important first step, it is also a recognition that the future is uncertain. Thanks to the sound budgeting of past fiscal years, we have maintained a level of reserves and preserved the functioning of essential programs. I look forward to continuing to work with legislative leadership and the Administration to navigate the challenges ahead.”