Legislature’s proposed budget continues vital investments in education, housing
SACRAMENTO – In his role chairing a significant Budget subcommittee, Senator Christopher Cabaldon, D-Yolo, has spent months questioning new spending proposals and pushing back against proposed cuts that would have hurt the residents and institutions of California and Senate District 3.
On Friday, he joined his Senate colleagues in approving an alternative to the governor’s proposed budget. The Legislature’s proposed budget makes about $12 billion in cuts, the amount needed to address the current deficit, but preserves funding for the state’s top priorities: higher education, housing, and reducing unsheltered homelessness. It also contains key items that will help District 3.
Now that the Legislature has passed its proposal, leaders will work with the governor’s office to reach a three-party agreement before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1.
“While this is a challenging budget, the state is certainly not alone in having to grapple with painful decisions,” said Sen. Cabaldon. “Families around California are making tough choices every day. I’m glad that we were able to agree on a spending plan that preserves funding for our top priorities.”
Protecting UC, CSU
Unlike the governor’s budget, the Legislature’s version does not cut funding to the University of California and California State University systems. The governor had in January proposed 8 percent cuts in the state’s budget for the University of California and California State University systems – a total of $771 million. The governor’s revised May budget trimmed the proposed reductions to 3 percent, or $129.7 million for UC and $143.8 million for CSU.
Eliminating these planned cuts will directly benefit California Maritime Academy and Sonoma State University, two important institutions in District 3 that have been struggling to address a significant drop in attendance.
Sen. Cabaldon and his Senate colleagues hosted two lengthy forums at Sonoma State in early 2025 to question CSU’s plan to cut many majors, lay off faculty, and eliminate NCAA sports for the coming academic year, and also to press for a vision of how Sonoma State will recover and thrive going forward. The Maritime Academy is in the process of combining operations with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to trim costs and improve efficiency.
“With millions of dollars in looming federal research cuts, our UC and CSU systems are facing enough difficulty without the state piling on,” Sen. Cabaldon said. “Our public university systems are the best in the world. We need to build on this asset and make that education more broadly available, not less.”
Sen. Cabaldon chairs Senate Budget Subcommittee 4, which oversees spending on government operations, housing and homelessness, technology and innovation, economic development, veterans, and the military department, among other items. In that role, he consistently pushed for the reversal of cuts proposed by the governor for homelessness, and housing, while questioning additional spending on bureaucracy and tax breaks.
The governor’s budget included no additional funding for the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program (HHAP), the main source of state assistance to cities and counties to operate emergency shelters and other programs to reduce homelessness. In contrast, the Legislature’s budget pledges $500 million in HHAP funding beginning July 1, 2026, about half of what local governments have received in recent years.
Continued focus on housing
The Legislature also restored funds to address the housing crisis: $500 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, $120 million for the state’s Multifamily Housing Program, and $300 million for the California Dream down payment assistance program for first- time homebuyers.
“City and county leaders cannot be expected to reduce the number of people living on the streets in Vacaville or Vallejo, Rohnert Park or Suisun City, if they don’t have access to these state dollars,” Sen. Cabaldon said. “Every local leader I talk to in my district says lack of funding – not local opposition or regulation -- is the number one reason they can’t build more affordable housing.”
Sen. Cabaldon is working to address that funding need with his SB 417, which proposes to put a $10 billion housing bond before voters in 2026.
Other key items in the legislative budget that will benefit residents of District 3 include:
Protecting the Delta
The Legislature rejected the governor’s proposal to waive regulations to fast-track approval of the Delta Conveyance Project, the controversial tunnel that would divert water from the Sacramento River before it reaches the Delta and send it to farms and cities in southern California.
"This budget does not include any language that would extra-legally, extra-Constitutionally, advance the project to destroy the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta," Sen. Cabaldon said. "We've told the governor, 'If you want to propose this, you are going to have to come through the Legislature's policy committees in the full light of day."
Health care for seniors
The governor had proposed ending Medi-Cal coverage for seniors who have more than $2,000 in assets, a change that would have cut an estimated 112,000 people from the program by 2027. The Legislature’s budget contains a higher threshold of $130,000 – the level that existed in 2022. This asset limit was erased completely in 2024, so $130,000 still represents a budget reduction. The asset threshold would primarily affect those who need long-term care. A person’s primary residence is exempt from the asset limit.
Fire Safety
The Legislature’s budget strengthens the state’s firefighting capacity by transitioning 3,000 seasonal firefighters to year-round status – a change that recognizes the state’s lengthening fire season.
Helping Veterans
The Legislature restored $819,000 for 2025-26 that the governor’s budget had cut to address deferred maintenance for California’s Veterans Homes. Also included is $38.76 million proposed by the governor to renovate the steam system that heats and cools the Yountville Veterans Home.
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Senator Christopher Cabaldon represents the 3rd Senate District which includes the cities of Oakley and Brentwood in Contra Costa County; American Canyon, Calistoga, Napa, Yountville, and St. Helena in Napa County; Benicia, Dixon, Fairfield, Rio Vista, Suisun City, Vacaville, and Vallejo, in Solano County; Cotati, Rohnert Park, and Sonoma in Sonoma County; Davis, West Sacramento, Winters, and Woodland in Yolo County; as well as Isleton in Sacramento County.