Advocates urge lawmakers to reject Gavin Newsom’s cuts to Medi-Cal, child care
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
ADVOCATES ASK FOR ZERO CUTS
Amid a slew of protests, rallies and marches in Sacramento on Monday, advocates gathered on the west steps of the Capitol to urge lawmakers to reject Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget cuts to Medi-Cal, In-Home Supportive Services, and childcare. Speakers, including Brittanie Hernandez-Wilson, Lead California Homecare Organizer at Hand in Hand, a domestic employee network, asked lawmakers to find other streams of revenue to make up for budget shortfalls.
“We know that these cuts are actually going to kill people,” Hernandez-Wilson told The Bee. “It will happen — not having access to health care, to home care, to childcare, to food — those things are disabling and can kill, right?”
Newsom’s May budget proposal calls for a Medi-Cal enrollment freeze in 2026 for those with “unsatisfactory immigration status” and, starting in 2027, $100 monthly premiums for that enrollment group. The proposal would also reinstate Medi-Cal asset limits for seniors and disabled adults, $2,000 for individuals and $3,000 for couples. It also aims to eliminate IHSS for undocumented Californians and cap overtime for IHSS providers.
For the most part, advocates were reacting to Newsom’s version of the budget proposal — not legislative Democrats’ budget proposal, released Monday morning. That budget addressed many of the governor’s cuts.
Legislators completely rejected his proposal to cap overtime hours for IHSS providers and eliminate IHSS for the undocumented community. They also reduced Newsom’s proposed premiums to $30 from $100. Their budget reinstates a Medi-Cal asset limit of $130,000 for seniors and disabled adults. The plan also calls for 10,000 new child care slots but approves the governor’s proposal to suspend the child care cost-of-living adjustment for one year.
Parent Voices, an organization of California parents working to improve access to childcare, was among the groups at the Capitol Monday. The governor’s budget allocated no money to publicly-funded childcare, so advocates were enthusiastic about legislative Democrats’ addition of 10,000 slots. Liliana Camacho, a mom of four, said Monday at the Capitol that receiving free childcare allowed her to go back to work and support her family. She urged legislators to fund the remaining slots needed for California’s low income families.
Despite the differences between Newsom and legislators’ budget proposals, advocates on Monday called for a full rejection of any cuts that would impact the vulnerable communities they represent.
“They’re trying to balance the budget on our backs, but we will not let them,” Hernandez-Wilson said. “And that’s why we are here today, to call on legislators and the governor to pass a budget that protects care for all of our communities.”
MCCLINTOCK RESPONDS TO L.A. PROTESTS
Via David Lightman...
No question where Rep. Tom McClintock stands on the Los Angeles area immigration protests.
“The doctrine of nullification died with the confederacy. The President has the solemn obligation to enforce federal law and to summon whatever force is necessary to restore federal authority and suppress rebellion whenever local or state officials fail or refuse to do so,” the Elk Grove Republican told The Bee Monday.
The Congressman chairs the House’s immigration subcommittee. He has been a strong supporter of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants. Nullification involves a state invalidating with federal law; courts have consistently said states cannot do so.
McClintock has been critical of Gov. Gavin Newsom. Trump ordered National Guard troops into the Los Angeles area without getting the usual consent of the state’s governor.
Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta Monday sued the Trump administration for deploying the Guard without the governor’s okay.
Before the suit was filed, McClintock tweeted, “Gavin Newsom seems to think that California can not only defy federal immigration law, but now federal tax law. The doctrine of nullification died with the Confederacy. What’s next: firing on Fort Ord?”
After reports that the administration was going to review federal grants to California, Newsom Friday noted California pays more in federal taxes than it receives.
“Maybe it’s time to cut that off,” Newsom tweeted.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“What happened to David Huerta is a disgrace — not just an attack on one man, but an attack on all of us who believe in justice, dignity, and the right to speak truth to power.”
— State Controller Malia Cohen
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