Frustration is growing with Gov. Gavin Newsom's go-it-alone decisions on coronavirus expenditures.
Some on the budget panel took aim at the governor’s decision to withhold, for now, any allocations to local communities from the $9.5 billion the state received in funding fromlast month. While the federal effort earmarked $5.8 billion for locals, that money only flows to communities of 500,000 people or more.
A legislative analysis found the $5.8 billion will be divvied up by 16 counties and five cities in California. But many more communities need help, lawmakers said, ones that aren’t large enough for a direct infusion of the federal cash. “What is the administration’s plan to make whole these local governments that do not meet the 500,000-person metric?” askedThe answer from Newsom’s advisors: The governor is deferring all decisions on dipping into the state’s share of that federal cash until he presents a budget proposal next month.
Expect more of these pointed questions in the coming days. For Newsom, who’s largely had the governing work to himself with the Legislature in stay-at-home mode, the job of managing the crisis could become more complicated as lawmakers insist on more collaboration and more transparency.
“There’s a deep desire to know when” things will change, he said on Thursday. “And as I said, it’s not a date. It’s an indicator.”The governor made one modification to the stay-at-home guidelines last week, allowing hospitals to again schedule elective surgeries. And he’s promised to offer updates every Wednesday on whether a series of measurements have shown improvement, including access to testing for the virus and key decisions made on how businesses will ensure physical distancing.
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