GOVERNOR BROWN
RELEASES UPDATED 2016-17 BUDGET
He recommends no
new spending with tax revenues down $1.9 billion
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The May
Revision includes two
minor adjustments that were requested by the State Library:
an increase in $56,000 to account for a rent increase for its Sacramento
facility, and $505,000 for “services, including publications, database
subscriptions, and other resources.”
Highlighted below is additional funding
that the Governor proposed for the California Library Services Act in his January Budget and is continued in
the May Revise:
•Adding $1.8 million in ongoing funding to
the current $1.8 million baseline
•Adding $3 million in one-time funding for
the purpose of allowing the regional systems to explore more creative and
effective ways to loan and share materials between libraries (e.g. “digital
delivery.”)
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STATE’S LEGISLATIVE ANALYST RECOMMENDS
LEGISLATURE REJECT CLSA PROPOSAL This week the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office, the non-partisan unit that advises the
Legislature and provides annual analysis of the Governor’s proposed Budget, is
recommending that the legislature reject the $3 million proposal relative to
the CLSA due to lack of specifics about the proposed expenditure.
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Instead
the Analyst suggests that the item be deferred in this Budget year, to make way
for a year of planning by the State Library, which would include a “proposed
timeline for development and implementation and expected outcomes.” (However, this assumes that the Governor
would include $3 million in next year’s Budget, which is clearly now an
uncertainty given the declining state revenues.)
Next
week the Assembly and Senate
Budget Subcommittees on Education Finance will begin reviewing the Governor’s
May Revision and will either accept, reject, or modify his January and May
proposals. These subcommittees are the
critical first step in ensuring that new library funding is included in the
Budget. Without the support of the
subcommittees, it is very difficult to include new funding for libraries down
the road in the Budget negotiations. The
subcommittees are on schedule to conclude their work by Friday, May 27. After that date, the full Senate and Assembly Budget Committees will meet, followed by the
commencement of the powerful Budget Conference Committee process, where the
final details will be reconciled between the conferees and the Governor. READ MORE @
