SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California would scale back state Medicaid coverage for immigrants without legal status, eliminate coverage for certain weight loss drugs and use money from a key climate program to help fund state fire response under a $322-billion budget proposal announced Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The Democratic governor's plan aims to fill a projected $12 billion budget hole he attributed to the Trump administration's economic policies, a volatile stock market causing a decline in revenues from wealthy taxpayers, and a reduction in global tourism.
“California’s fundamental values don’t change just because the federal winds have shifted," Newsom said in a statement. "Even as the Trump Slump slows the economy and hits our revenues, we’re delivering bold proposals to build more housing, lower costs for working families, and invest in our kids.”
California is required by law to balance its budget every year. Newsom first unveiled a plan in January without a projected shortfall. His revised proposal now heads to state lawmakers, who have until mid-June to negotiate before a final budget act must be passed.
Here is a look at some of what Newsom is proposing:
Newsom plans to freeze enrollment for low-income adult immigrants without legal status and require eligible adults to pay a $100 monthly premium. He said the proposed changes to the program would save the state $5.4 billion by the 2028-2029 fiscal year.
Newsom also wants to stop using revenues from a tobacco tax to pay dental, family planning and women’s health providers. The revenues from the tax have declined close to 40% between 2017 and 2024 and can no longer make those payments without using the general fund, a state Department of Finance spokesperson said. The proposal would save at least $500 million a year.
But that would also cut California Planned Parenthood’s budget by a third, the organization said. The group is heavily critical of the proposed cut.
“It’s cruel, quite frankly, especially during this time that we’re fighting at the federal level as well," said Jodi Hicks, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California and a Newsom ally.
The governor also proposed eliminating state health care coverage for certain drugs used for weight loss beginning in January 2026, which would save an estimated $85 million for the upcoming fiscal year and $680 million by fiscal year 2028-2029.
The state would also delay the repayment of a $3.4 billion loan for state Medicaid providers under Newsom's plan.
Newsom plans to cut spending for a program providing in-home domestic and personal care services for some low-income residents and Californians with disabilities by capping workers’ overtime and travel hours at 50 hours per week. The move would reduce spending by nearly $708 million for the upcoming fiscal year.
Newsom wants to reauthorize the state’s cap-and-trade program through 2045. The program aims to reduce emissions from industrial sources over time through market-based mechanisms, and it is set to expire in 2030.
Money generated through auctions of credits needed to pollute goes into a fund that lawmakers tap for climate-related spending and the state’s high-speed rail project.
Newsom proposed tapping $1.5 billion from that fund for the state fire department. He said the shift would help ensure carbon emitters help pay for the state’s response to fires intensified by climate change.
His proposal would also ensure $1 billion annually for the state’s long-delayed high-speed rail project. The project now receives 25% of the cap-and-trade fund money, which ends up being a little more or a little less than a billion annually depending on the year.
Environmental groups called on Newsom to back proposals aimed at making fossil fuel companies pay the state for damages linked to climate change. The money would be used in part to support the state's response to climate-driven natural disasters.
Newsom also announced a plan to streamline a project to create a massive underground tunnel to reroute a big part of the state’s water supply.
Newsom proposed closing another state prison by October 2026 to save $150 million annually. Newsom has already approved the closure of three prisons since 2019. The state's prison population has declined over the years, even after voters last year passed a tough-on-crime ballot measure that could incarcerate more people, according to Newsom's budget plan. Newsom didn’t specify which facility would shutter.
The budget proposal did not include funding to implement the voter-approved initiative that makes shoplifting a felony for repeat offenders again, increases penalties for some drug charges and gives judges the authority to order people with multiple drug charges to get treatment.
Associated Press writer Trân Nguyễn contributed to this report.
Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on X: @sophieadanna
CORRECTS BUDGET DATES Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom presents his revised 2025-2026 state budget during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.
Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.
U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.
"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”
Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.
Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.
“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”
Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.
U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.
Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.
Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.
Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.
"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.
The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.
The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.
“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.
“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”
The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
