Don’t like Newsom budget? Blame the California GOP

These are some highlights — lowlights? — of a new state budget crafted by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the heavily Democratic Legislature:

• Government health insurance for young adult immigrants living here illegally.

• A $1.7 billion income tax increase to finance a wealth redistribution program called the earned income tax credit.

• A drinking water cleanup effort funded by fees collected to reduce climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions.

In past legislative eras, these budget provisions — especially the first two — would have been labeled lowlights, not cheered as highlights.

But liberal Democrats are now in firm control of the state Capitol with arguably the most leftist governor ever and supermajorities in the Legislature. That’s because they accurately represent the Democrat- dominated California electorate. That’s the way it’s designed to work.

Anyone with a beef about Sacramento politics should blame Republicans. They’ve allowed themselves to become so weak they’re irrelevant on any issue not requiring a two-thirds supermajority vote, such as a tax increase. They only become players when a bill — perhaps a tax hike — is so liberal Assembly moderates lean Republican.

This increasing Democratic dominance is largely due to changing demographics. The nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California reported last year that 77% of likely Republican voters were white and only 23% people of color. That’s a coalition without a future in California. Democratic likely voters were split evenly. But back to the budget. It totals nearly $215 billion: $148 billion general fund, $61 billion special funds, $6 billion bonds. The main budget bill must be sent to the governor by Saturday night or legislators will lose their pay. They’ll avoid that at any cost. About those highlights: Under current law, undocumented children up to age 19 are eligible for Medi- Cal, the state health care program for the poor. The new budget extends eligibility to age 26. The cost: $98 million annually.

An estimated 90,000 undocumented young adults will become eligible for full Medi- Cal coverage. It’s the latest help by the state for immigrants here illegally. But for Newsom, it’s apparently less about undocumented immigrants than it is about gradually ensuring every Californian has health care coverage. He campaigned on that.

“We want everyone to have access to preventive care,” says Daniel Zingale, a Newsom adviser. “It’s relatively low cost. We want them to keep healthy so they can stay out of very costly hospital emergency rooms. ...

“This governor regards [undocumented immigrants] as Californians. They pay taxes, work at jobs, they’re our neighbors. The vast majority play by the rules. Excluding them from access to health care doesn’t make sense.”

Several Democratic legislators wanted to make all adults living here illegally eligible for Medi- Cal. But Newsom nixed that, saying it would cost over $3 billion.

Newsom’s plan also includes subsidizing medical insurance for middle- class individuals earning up to $72,000 a year and families of four making up to $150,000.

The $1.7 billion income tax hike isn’t something most people need to worry about, despite the description being a bit scary: It conforms some of California’s tax law to President Trump’s controversial tax overhaul of 2017. But it affects relatively few people.

Moreover, some moderate Democrats in the Assembly are balking and it’s not a done deal yet. A two-thirds majority vote is required.

H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the state finance department, says if the $1.7 billion tax increase isn’t passed, there won’t be money for the earned income tax credit largesse. Newsom’s plan would triple the credits from $400 million annually to $1.2 billion, and increase eligibility from 2 million working poor to 3 million. “If we don’t have [tax] conformity, we don’t have money for the program,” Palmer says.

The tax proposal’s biggest hit is worth $1.3 billion. It would limit the amount of business losses — on housing rentals, for example — that could offset personal income.

On water, more than 1 million people don’t have access to safe water. Newsom wanted to slap a 95-cent tax on every water bill to fix the problem. The Legislature was skittish, what with the state’s $20 billion surplus.

So lawmakers tapped into the so- called cap-and-trade fund, which legally can only be spent on programs to fight climate change. A budget writer rationalized that if we drive a car to buy bottled water, it emits greenhouse gas emissions. So spending the cap-andtrade revenue is justified.

Typical government explanation.

But about the last thing Californians need right now is another tax increase.