Senate budget vice chair warns: State budget meets constitutional obligation but fails to meet taxpayers’ needs

Republican Senator Roger Niello, Vice Chair of the Senate Budget Committee, released the following statement in response to the California Senate’s passage of the 2023-2024 budget:

“It is disappointing to see my Democratic colleagues pass a budget that overspends. This budget relies on unrealistic revenue assumptions and will lead to multi-year deficits.

“Passing this budget meets the state deadline, but it is nothing more than a shell game that fails to meet the needs of taxpayers. I fear this placeholder budget largely ignores the economic uncertainty that will negatively impact Californians in the future and put us in an even deeper financial hole.”

In his recent column in CalMatters, Dan Walters wrote, “The California legislature will be playing charades this week, passing a budget bill to meet the June 15 constitutional deadline even though it’s not the real budget. It will, however, protect lawmakers’ paychecks.”