Ask SSC . . .
How Will Midyear Cuts Impact Education?
Q. What does the Governor’s “midyear cut” ability look like in the new Budget? Under what circumstances can a midyear cut be enacted? And who is impacted?
A. The Governor’s midyear cut authority applies only to “state operations” as opposed to “local assistance,” which includes funding for K-14 education. As a result, K-14 funding will not be effected by a Governor’s mid-year cut. “State operations” includes all of the state personnel working in the various departments and agencies in Sacramento and around the state. These appropriations would be vulnerable.
That’s not to rule
out the possibility of a K-14 education midyear cut that goes through the
Legislature and gets the Governor’s signature, which is the process under
Proposition 58. We are still vulnerable to a midyear cut, as long as the
Legislature concurs.
There is very little guidance on when the midyear cuts would be authorized. The legislation simply authorizes the midyear reductions if either revenues or expenditures “substantially” deviate from the budgeted level, as determined by the Governor's Director of Finance. There are no specific percentage thresholds in the legislation, which means that the Administration has great latitude in implementing the cuts.
—Robert Miyashiro