Brown used his line-item veto to eliminate $1.3 million in expenditures — including $1 million for the restoration of Clear Lake.
The full budget summary is available on the ebudget.ca.gov website.
“Despite stronger revenues compared to a year ago, the budget remains precariously balanced,” the summary reads. “The 2015 Budget Act pays down debt and saves for a rainy day as it implements the first year of Proposition 2. In addition, it increases spending on education, health care, In-Home Supportive Services, workforce development, drought assistance and the judiciary.”
As expected, the budget includes 11 new positions to jump-start the new Statewide IT Project Management Office, funded by a $1 million loan from the General Fund for 2015-16. The office will also receive $432,000 from the Technology Services Revolving Fund and ongoing support to develop a statewide project management framework and to manage IT projects.
Through Proposition 98, which was put in place in the late 1980s and secures a baseline amount of funding for education, K-12 schools and higher education will receive $68.4 billion — well above the required minimum amount. A special program within the K-12 education budget that funds Internet capabilities in classrooms was given a one-time increase of $50 million, up from the $26.7 million allocated in the 2014-15 budget.
The Brown administration said funding levels will increase by more than $3,000 per K-12 student in 2015‑16 compared to four years ago.
Also of note in the budget, the California State Library will be given approximately $4.2 million from the General Fund for a “broadband project.” Of that, $4 million will be used on a one-time basis for grants to upgrade the broadband equipment at public libraries, while the additional $225,000 will be for the continued upkeep of those services.
In addition, a new pilot program will be given $1 million in one-time funding to begin a new online high school diploma program.
This story was originally published by TechWire.