California Gov. Gavin Newsom has to reconcile a $73 billion budget deficit by the end of June, a problem some lawmakers and analysts say his “mismanagement of state finances” helped create.
In 2022, Newsom signed a $301 billion budget into law and boasted a $97 billion surplus. The budget, nearly triple what it was the prior fiscal year, included billions of dollars for climate change initiatives, homelessness and education. But two years later, the deficit has ballooned.
