California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a $322 billion budget without a deficit. It’s a welcome change after two years of significant budget shortfalls in the nation’s most populous state. But the proposal announced Monday will also leave little room for funding new programs. The budget is an improvement for the state that recently faced major budget shortfalls of tens of billion of dollars two years in a row. Still, it's mostly a placeholder as California waits to see if incoming President Donald Trump will follow through on threats to revoke billions in federal dollars, which could force lawmakers to make painful cuts to essential programs.
