Here’s what could be restored to the California budget if the feds send aid

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature are poised to pass a budget with billions of dollars in cuts that could be reversed if the federal government decides to provide states with more aid.

If Congress and President Donald Trump send California $14 billion in flexible aid money by Oct. 15, funding would be restored to a range of programs under the budget deal Newsom and legislative leaders announced Monday.

“Due to delays in a vital supplemental aid package by the President and the U.S. Senate, the budget adopts hundreds of millions of dollars of cuts to the state’s university systems, courts, housing-related programs, and other investments,” a report for California lawmakers says.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the cuts Californians will see without federal intervention.

State courts

The judicial branch will lose $150 million, though several programs will be shielded from having any cuts, including court interpreters, family law information centers, dependency counsel, state drug courts and court-appointed special advocates.

Higher education

California’s community colleges and universities face punishing cuts if funding isn’t restored by federal spending.

The California Community College system is looking at payment deferrals of $791 million from the Proposition 98 General Fund.

The California State University system faces cuts of $500 million, while the University of California system is looking at $472 in cuts.

For both the CSU and UC system, the Legislature’s intent is that the university systems use reserves to mitigate potential cuts, “and that cuts do not have a disproportionate impact on low-income students, students from under-represented minority groups and other disadvantaged students,” according to the budget document.

K-12 schools

Like higher education, K-12 education faces a significant loss of funds.

Without federal intervention, the state will defer $5.8 billion in K-12 Proposition 98 funding for the 2020-21 year.

State employees

The budget calls for a reduction of $2.8 billion in executive branch employee compensation.

However, the budget also creates a pot of money for state workers called the Employee Compensation Reduction Offset Fund. If the federal government sends aid, some or all of the cuts in state worker pay now being made could be restored.