SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - On Jan. 9, Senate Budget Vice Chair Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks) and Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) responded to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2026-2027 budget release:

“This budget proposal feels as though the state is running in place,” said Sen. Niello. “The state is spending more without achieving meaningful progress. Instead of setting clear priorities or making strategic investments to address the huge deficit, it perpetuates the status quo, leaving critical needs unmet. Californians are tired of running in place and never feeling like they can catch up.”

The budget faces what is known as a structural deficit, which means the state is spending more each year than it takes in. That is a problem that must be confronted, not ignored.

“This is more of the same from a lame-duck governor content on leaving the rest of us to pick up the financial pieces when he leaves office,” said Sen. Jones. “This is a man who has demonstrated recklessness and irresponsibility in every year in his budgeting practices and I’m disappointed, but not surprised, to see that continued today. We’ll be fighting this proposal and working to advance an alternative that puts the people first, prioritizes Prop. 36 funding, education, essential services and avoids the fiscal ruin he’s so dead set on saddling us with.”

This year’s will be Gov. Newsom’s final budget. Since he has been in office, state general fund spending has increased by 77%.

“Governor Newsom has treated this budget like his personal gift bag: giving away hard-earned taxpayer dollars without a thought to the consequences or structure of where it’s going,” Jones concluded. “Yet I would ask every Californian: Has your life improved in this same time?”

In December, Senate Republicans outlined key budget priorities as all 10 members called for focus on: lowering housing costs for renters and helping more Californians buy homes; keeping Californians safe from crime and wildfires; supporting hospitals and access to care for rural Californians; eliminating fraud in Medi-Cal and other assistance programs; investing in water and emergency services for disasters and droughts; funding for UC and CSU so students can afford to stay and learn in California; and supporting job creators by reducing the Unemployment Insurance debt burden placed on them.

State Sen. Roger Niello represents District 6, which includes the cities of Galt and Herald in Sacramento County and Roseville in Placer County.