California budget deal could happen Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom says

California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom could reach a deal on the state budget in the next few hours, Newsom told reporters Friday.

“We’re in final throes ... so we’re hoping today,” Newsom said during a trip to Sacramento restaurant Queen Sheba where he helped cook meals for seniors. “There’s a lot of labor negotiations, a lot of pieces, a lot of moving parts. It’s a tough budget for all of us. The magnitude of the shortfall is unprecedented.”

Lawmakers approved a budget Monday, the constitutional deadline. But the bill they passed represented agreement only among lawmakers, not with the governor, so negotiations have continued.

At issue is an estimated $54 billion deficit caused by the coronavirus. Lawmakers passed a budget that tries to avoid or delay cuts, while Newsom has proposed a plan with more reductions.

Lawmakers said last week they had agreed to “anticipate budget savings” from reduced funding for state workers if California does not receive more aid money from the federal government, although many state workers’ salaries are subject to negotiation with unions. That proposal, to reduce pay for state workers, has been part of the governor’s plan.

In turn, the governor has agreed to back off on his proposed cuts to childcare programs and in-home supportive services that keep adults out of nursing homes, Newsom’s office said earlier this week. The administration has also agreed to continue a planned expansion of Medi-Cal eligibility to low-income seniors that was agreed to in the budget passed last year but had not yet been implemented, according to Newsom’s office. Advocates and lawmakers have argued that cuts to health care and programs to keep seniors in their homes could make the COVID-19 pandemic worse.

Newsom and lawmakers must reach an agreement ahead of July 1, when the next fiscal year begins.