FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Press Contact: Sumeet Bal, Director of Communications, 917-647-1952, [email protected]

Public Advocates Responds to Governor’s May Revision

Calls for New Revenue Sources and Stronger Safeguards to Shield Californians From Skyrocketing Housing Costs and Anticipated Federal Spending Cuts

Sacramento, Calif.—Today Governor Gavin Newsom released the May Revision of his January budget proposal. The $321.9 billion spending plan—the second largest in state history—addresses a $12 billion deficit triggered largely by stock market volatility resulting from President Trump’s tariff policies, but does not yet account for billions in anticipated federal cuts.

Public Advocates, a leading civil rights law firm and advocacy organization, works to dismantle the root causes of poverty and discrimination across California. Our analysis of the May Revision focuses specifically on how these fiscal decisions will impact the state’s most vulnerable communities, with particular attention to critical areas of education, housing affordability, transportation equity, and climate justice.

“We are now witnessing the disastrous fiscal impact of President Trump’s trade policies on California’s budget revenues, with more federal cuts anticipated,” said Guillermo Mayer, President and CEO of Public Advocates. “State leaders must respond by protecting already struggling families from our state’s sky-high cost of living, including rent and basic needs. While Governor Newsom is taking important steps to shield K-12 education, we urge him and legislative leaders to explore new revenue sources to ensure this budget gap isn’t balanced on the backs of working-class Californians who already made their economic frustrations clear at the ballot box last November.”

K-12 Education

“Given the dire impacts caused by President Trump’s reckless economic policies, it has to be recognized as a win for students to see relatively flat funding proposed for K-12 education and a continuation of the governor’s transformative investments in community schools, universal Transitional Kindergarten and expanded learning,” said John Affeldt, Managing Attorney and Director of Education Equity at Public Advocates. “It was disappointing to see a $50 million reduction in the new teacher recruitment incentive from January’s proposal, but all efforts to address teacher shortages are critically important at this time and the administration deserves credit for maintaining $264.5 million in teacher incentives. Overall, the flat funding for K-12, reductions for higher education and cuts and underinvestment in housing and health and human services highlight the need to explore new state revenues to uphold our values and insulate California from federal volatility.” 

Higher Education

“The power of student voice and advocacy clearly impacted cuts to the UC and CSU which went from nearly 8% to 3%. Student leaders from across the state traveled to Sacramento to share with decision makers how proposed cuts would negatively impact them,” said Sbeydeh Viveros-Walton, Public Advocates’ Director of Higher Education. “This progress is under threat as Trump’s budget proposes to axe Pell Grants, work study and outreach programs critical to students from lower income communities. California must generate new revenue to both shield our universities from state-level cuts and counteract these devastating federal attacks on educational opportunity.”

College Affordability

“We appreciate the governor’s commitment to fulfill the compacts to the CSU and UC systems. However, with anticipated federal cuts to student support programs, we cannot focus only on segment funding but must continue to address college affordability comprehensively so that low-income, Black and Latinx students will not fall further behind,” said Jetaun Stevens, Senior Staff Attorney, Higher Education at Public Advocates. “With more than 50% of students in higher education reporting housing insecurity, and a quarter of community college students reporting experiences with homelessness, the state’s housing crisis is having a devastating impact on access to education for low-income students. The state must focus on housing solutions that will support struggling students such as expanding rent caps and campus safe-parking programs and avoiding policies that criminalize homelessness which only create more barriers. Leadership should also see colleges and universities as key partners in addressing the state’s housing crisis. The Higher Education Student Housing Grant program is set to create thousands of affordable housing units. The state should reinvest any cost-savings into additional affordable student housing projects for students from lower-income communities.” 

Housing Affordability and Renter Protections

“As the Trump administration threatens cuts to critical housing programs, including Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8), California must prepare to support our more than 600,000 residents that rely on these programs to stay housed in the most expensive housing market in the country. State leaders must leverage low-cost, high-impact solutions like strengthening the Tenant Protection Act rent cap, expanding eviction protections to all renters, and preventing homelessness before it starts with eviction moratoriums triggered by expected federal program cuts – all policies with bills currently in the legislature,” said Michelle Pariset, Public Advocates’ Director of Legislative Affairs. “Our leadership must be committed to policies that give renters more time to respond to financial shocks and ensure that in times of economic uncertainty, Californians can maintain the dignity of having a stable home. These approaches cost far less than addressing homelessness after families lose their housing. Millions of Californians are already struggling with housing affordability and it will get much worse if the recession economists project materializes. The governor and legislators should throw their full weight behind these measures.” 

Further Pariset states, “Sweeping encampments do nothing to house people. The evidence is abundant and clear that homelessness is a direct result of a lack of affordable housing for the poorest Californians. We urge the governor and cities to focus on evidence-based solutions and not let frustration overshadow compassion for the people experiencing homelessness.”

Transportation Affordability

“Reliable public transit service is critical to California’s economy, greenhouse gas reductions, and household affordability. Without additional funding many transit agencies will have to make major service cuts, which will have long lasting impacts,” said Laurel Paget-Seekins, Public Advocates’ Senior Transportation Policy Advocate and member of the state’s Transit Transformation Task Force. “Unfortunately, Governor Newsom’s budget proposal doesn’t provide needed short-term funding to bridge the gap until longer-term funding sources can be identified through an existing state task force and proposals for regional and local ballot measures. This proposal also puts at risk existing transit and affordable housing funding in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund by earmarking the majority to High Speed Rail and fire prevention. The legislature must retain the continuous appropriations in GGRF for the Affordable Housing Sustainable Communities, Low Carbon Transit Operations Program, and Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program.”       

Public Advocates looks forward to working with the governor and legislative leadership to continue finding solutions that will help protect vulnerable residents in these challenging political and economic times. 

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Public Advocates Inc. is a nonprofit law firm and advocacy organization that challenges the systemic causes of poverty and racial discrimination by strengthening community voices in public policy and achieving tangible legal victories advancing education, housing, transportation equity, and climate justice.