Inside Sacramento: Key Updates on California’s 2026-27 State Budget Process 

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By
CSAC Staff
Date Published
January 22, 2026

CSAC has a finger on the pulse of political and governmental activity in Sacramento and cuts through the noise to deliver the trends, insights, and key developments necessary to keep counties well-informed. Here’s what you need to know about the state budget development process for 2026-27 this week:  

This week: Legislative Budget Committees Convened 

Legislative leadership wasted no time scheduling budget overview hearings to discuss the Governor’s fiscal plan. This week, the Assembly and Senate budget committees convened to review the Governor’s budget proposals and begin shaping the legislative vehicles that will eventually become the 2026 Budget Act.   

Prior to these hearings, CSAC submitted letters to the Governor’s Administration, legislative leadership, and budget committee chairs in both houses offering comments to inform budget conversations throughout the spring and summer and highlight funding priorities for counties across the state. You can read CSAC’s comment letters and view more information about the state budget process on CSAC’s State Budget webpage, also linked below:  

What are state lawmakers saying about counties? 

Both Senate and Assembly budget committee hearings yielded a forum for passionate discussion for state lawmakers about the state’s funding priorities, and many lawmakers resonated deeply with CSAC’s concerns:  

Regarding H.R. 1 Impacts to Counties:  

  • Assemblymember Corey Jackson remarked that “…we continue to put more and more financial burden on our counties. But it’s going to be harder to keep people on the assistance that they qualify for if we do not give counties more help to be able to make sure that the everyday person is getting the assistance that they need.” 
  • Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo shared that “…we need to think about really ramping up how we’re working with counties and want to hear more about how that coordination with counties and hospitals is happening. It feels like there’s this house of cards that is being set up by H.R. 1 that is on the brink of completely collapsing and our health care system is really on the front line and going to be so profoundly impacted by that.” 
  • Senator Caroline Menjivar expressed her disappointment in the proposed budget stating that “there is no response here to how we’re going to address H.R. 1 impacts. There’s no solution for how the counties are supposed to address the impacts and cuts to H.R. 1.”  

Regarding Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention program funding: 

  • Senator Christopher Cabaldon expressed concern about the future of HHAP funding and stated that “Whether the pot exists until June at the end of negotiations makes it very hard for cities and counties and communities and continuum of care to be able to meet the needs on the street.” 

Regarding Proposition 36:  

  • Assemblymember Natasha Johnson commented “This budget once again fails to adequately fund Proposition 36, but the voters have spoken loud and clear that Californians want safe communities…when will we expect that the will of the voters is honored by funding Prop 36?” 
  • Senator Catherine Blakespear offered “We also need to fund Proposition 36. Proposition 36 was passed by all 58 counties in the state of California. Every single one passed Proposition 36 by large margins.” 

You can watch recordings of the Senate and Assembly budget committee overview hearings on their respective media archive webpages (linked). 

CSAC’s Senior Legislative Advocate for government finance, Emma Jungwirth, provides public comment during the Assembly Budget Committee hearing on Tuesday, January 20 on behalf of CSAC. 

How to engage with CSAC’s budget advocacy 

As county leaders, this is the moment to make our collective voices heard on the issues that matter most to our communities, ensuring our feedback is considered during budget deliberations. Individual counties can engage with CSAC’s budget advocacy efforts by: 

CSAC will continue to publish comprehensive updates on the state budget development process in our weekly bulletin. In the interim, please contact CSAC legislative affairs staff with questions about specific policy areas.