California Faces $68 Billion Budget Deficit, May Declare Fiscal Emergency to Access Reserves
• California facing $68 billion budget gap for 2024-2025 fiscal year due to lower than expected tax revenues • Lawmakers may need to declare fiscal emergency to access $24 billion in budget reserves • All options on table - including rolling back recent initiatives - to close gap and avoid cuts • Assembly Budget Chair Protecting vulnerable and education funding are top priorities • Changes possible to recently passed $25 minimum wage for healthcare workers to ease fiscal pressures