Before leaving for Spring Recess on Thursday, the State Legislature approved Assembly Bill 100. Commonly referred to as a “Budget Bill, Jr.” this measure amends a prior Budget Act; this has become a routine exercise every spring.
This measure makes several program area adjustments, including:
- Appropriates $181 million from the wildfire and forest resilience section of the climate bond passed by voters in November 2024. Allocations include $30,904,000 to the Sierra Nevada Conservancy; and $23,524,000 to the California Tahoe Conservancy. The June 2025 budget bill will likely appropriate more of the Proposition 4 funding.
- Authorizes more uses of the $2.5 billion Wildfire Recovery Funds including temporary backfills of property tax losses related to the Eaton and Palisades Fires for 2024-25 and use of the state’s cash reserve to advance funds to Los Angeles County and its cities for unmet wildfire response and recovery needs. While a temporary property tax backfill to local governments is not uncommon after natural disasters, the provision of cashflow assistance for the southern California fires is a new concept. The advance cash flow assistance may potentially cost the state hundreds of millions; however, anticipated federal reimbursements of the local response and recovery funds (if and when received) would be deposited back to the state General Fund.
- Provides Funding for Medi-Cal so it can keep paying providers, hospitals and others through June. This measure increases Medi-Cal’s 2024-25 General Fund appropriation by $2.8 billion and its federal funds appropriation by $8.25 billion. These increases are similar to those identified in January budget estimates. Those numbers will be reconciled in the June budget package, after updated estimates are released in May. The May estimates are expected to further highlight cost overruns of the program, including overruns related to increasing caseload and pharmaceutical costs. As a result, the Legislature may need to consider changes that reduce cost-growth in the program.
Assembly Bill 100 is expected to be acted upon by the Governor shortly.
For more information, contact RCRC Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, Mary-Ann Warmerdam.