Source: CalMatters
Still yet to strike a budget deal with Gov. Gavin Newsom, legislative Democrats have put their own spending priorities into a bill that they plan to pass this week ahead of a critical deadline.
The proposal, which was published online late Sunday, represents an agreement between the Democratic caucuses of the state Senate and Assembly, both of which hold supermajorities and can pass any measure without Republican support.
.... Assemblymember Phil Ting, a San Francisco Democrat who leads the Assembly budget committee, pointed to permitting overhaul as the biggest unresolved issue. Newsom recently announced a plan to speed up development of major infrastructure projects by limiting environmental challenges, which he is trying to jam through the budget process over the objections of some legislators.
“We’re supportive of the overall direction of the governor’s bills, but we still need time to go through the policy details,” Ting said. “These are significant policy bills which all the different policy committees are reviewing.” ...