Statement on the Passage of the 2026-27 State Budget

SACRAMENTO - The California Legislature passed the 2026-27 State Budget, Assembly Bill (AB) 109. Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens (D-Silicon Valley), a member of the Assembly's Committee on Budget, issued the following statement upon passage of the Budget Act of 2026:

"Today we passed a budget that puts people first; despite Donald Trump's devastating federal cuts to our social safety net programs, California continues to advance the idea that the health and wellbeing of the people is the paramount duty of government.

California's budget utilizes our windfall revenues from our innovation economy to avoid deadly cuts to health care and human services that would disproportionately harm our most vulnerable people. The budget includes a hard-fought investment of $250 million for public hospitals to maintain access to critical lifesaving health services, $900 million for the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) program to support local governments addressing homelessness, and it fully rejects cuts to In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS). It expands support for food banks and funds counties for administrative burdens created by the federal budget preventing hunger and protecting access to CalFresh benefits.

This budget protecting our most vulnerable is only possible because of California's growing innovation economy, so we continue investing in education with the largest per pupil school expenditure in our state's history. The budget protects access to our public higher education institutions, expands eligibility to age 30 for Cal Grant, and increases funding for improved access to child care and preschool for families.

This budget responsibly continues to grow our state's financial reserves, expands investments in public safety and wildfire prevention, and makes major investments to address homelessness and support affordable housing for Californians. I am proud the 2026-27 California State Budget we passed today protects access to health care and our social safety net for Californians while we continue to work on long-term solutions to address the affordability crisis and hope for positive change in Washington DC."

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Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens represents the Silicon Valley in the California State Assembly for District 26. He serves on the Assembly Committees on Budget, Business and Professions, Health, Rules, Transportation, and Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Human Services. Assemblymember Ahrens is the Co-Chair of the California Legislative Technology & Innovation Caucus, and a member of the California Legislative Jewish and Bay Area Caucuses.