2023-24 legislative budget bill in print
Floor votes expected on Thursday
The Senate and Assembly budget plans, approved in late May by the two houses’ budget committees, were broadly similar.
Now in print, SB 101 and AB 101—one of which is slated to be the 2023-24 Budget Act, if enacted—synthesize the two committees’ plans into a unified legislative budget framework. This “two-party” (Senate-Assembly) budget framework is headed for votes on the Senate and Assembly Floors on Thursday, June 15.
Budget committee hearings are scheduled on the bills this week. On this page, links will be listed to analyses or summaries of the bills, as they are released.
Statement on legislative budget framework by Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon here.
Senate summary of legislative budget framework here.
Assembly summary of legislative budget framework here.
Legislative Analyst’s Office summary here.
Senate June 14 committee hearing agenda with additional information here.
Next Steps in the 2023 Budget Process
June 15 and the Legislature’s Budget Priorities. The Governor proposes an annual budget in January and revises that proposal in mid-May. For more than 50 years, the June 15 deadline for the Assembly and Senate to pass a budget bill has been an opportunity for the Legislature to declare its key spending priorities after months of budget subcommittee hearings.
Governor Will Have 12 Days to Act on the Budget Bill. The Senate and Assembly budget plans, approved in late May by the two houses’ budget committees, were broadly similar. SB 101 and AB 101—one of which is slated to be the 2023-24 Budget Act, if enacted—synthesize the two committees’ plans into a unified legislative budget framework. The Governor continues to negotiate with legislative leaders to ask for changes to the legislative framework, including statutory changes related to the budget (“trailer bills”) like the infrastructure proposals the Governor announced in Stanislaus County one week after the May Revision. (Both houses’ policy committees recently held hours of hearings concerning those infrastructure proposals.) The Constitution gives the Governor 12 days to act on a budget bill that is sent to him on June 15.
On-Time Budgets Now the Norm. In recent years, executive-legislative budget agreements often have emerged during the 12-day period that the Constitution grants the Governor to review the legislative budget bill. Notably, California has had an enacted budget in place on or before the July 1 start of the fiscal year each year since 2011 (the first year when Proposition 25 gave budget control to the legislative majority).
Trailer Bills and Budget Amendments After June 15. Producing the gigantic annual budget bill for the June 15 deadline is an immense task for both legislative and executive branch staff, working at the direction of elected leaders in the Legislature. This year’s June 15 budget bill began to be transmitted to Department of Finance and Legislative Counsel staff for drafting around June 1, with final elements submitted only days ago.
The main content of most future trailer bills has been online at the Department of Finance website for weeks or months now. Nevertheless, final drafting of trailer bills and amendments to the budget bill (“budget bills jr.”) cannot begin until the June 15 budget bill is completed. Accordingly, around 20 or more trailer bills and one or more budget bills jr. to round out the 2023-24 budget package will emerge in the days after June 15. Several more budget-related bills likely will be required—including for “clean up” purposes—near the end of the 2023 legislative session in late August or early September. Finally, a few 2023-24 budget-related bills likely will be considered in early 2024 (often called “mid-year” budget bills).