California’s new budget, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday, expands health care for illegal immigrants and includes a penalty for people who do not purchase health insurance.
The provisions were among several measures in the $214.8 billion operating budget that Newsom signed before the midnight deadline. It is the largest in the state’s history, according to the Los Angeles Times.
California lawmakers were at odds over how far to go providing government-funded health care to illegal immigrants. Newsom last month proposed providing $98 million a year to cover low-income illegal immigrants between the ages of 19 and 25. A more extreme state Assembly’s bill proposed covering all illegal immigrants over the age of 19 living in California – a proposal that would cost an estimated $3.4 billion.
The budget also seeks to address the state’s crippling housing shortage and mounting homelessness. California’s governor and legislative leaders agreed on a plan to reward local governments who make it easier to build housing faster and punish those who don’t. – READ MORE