Sacramento, CA — Today, Zima Creason, Executive Director of the California EDGE Coalition, issued the following statement in response to Governor Newsom’s 2026-27 May Revision:
“This May Revision arrives with something we were not expecting early in the year – a genuine opportunity! With unexpected additional dollars on the table, California has a real chance to make transformative investments in our communities that need it most. When workers can’t access food assistance while they’ are in training, when a student parent has to drop out because child care costs more than tuition, when health care disappears the moment someone loses a job, we are not building a workforce; we are building a revolving door. This budget is a chance to change that. We are encouraged by the significant upgrade to the Student Centered Funding Formula, support for the new federal Workforce Pell Grant program, the Cradle-to-Career Data System, Dual Enrollment, and Credit for Prior Learning efforts related to the Master Plan for Career Education.
California’s budget choices should reflect what workers, students, families, and employers need to build a strong, resilient economy. Health care, food security, child care, housing, and transportation are not separate from workforce policy; they are the social determinants of work. Access to health care is especially critical for immigrant communities, workers, parents, and students, and helps ensure businesses have a healthy, stable workforce that can contribute to California’s long-term economic growth.
Today’s Appropriations Suspense File outcomes also reflect important momentum for EDGE’s policy priorities, with SB 1054 (Cabaldon), co-sponsored by EDGE and focused on workforce data in response to HR 1, AB 1534 (Irwin) on Workforce Pell, and AB 1871 (Fong) on dual enrollment, all advancing alongside the investments needed to expand opportunity and strengthen California’s workforce.
This is the moment to invest with intention, and we look forward to working with the Governor, the Legislature, and our partners to ensure that the resources available in this budget reach the students, workers, and families who have been waiting for California to show up for them.”
Below are May Revision Highlights and Suspense File outcomes:
May Revision Highlights
The Governor’s 2026-27 May Revision reflects an improved but cautious budget outlook, balancing the next two fiscal years while maintaining nearly $29.9 billion in total reserves, including $15.1 billion in the Rainy Day Fund. The largest investments remain in health and human services and education. General Fund revenues came in $16.5 billion higher than projected in January, driven largely by a 2025 spike in capital gains — which means real resources are on the table for the programs and communities we care about. Below are highlights relative to EDGE priorities. Stay tuned for a full analysis coming soon and opportunities to engage in advocacy!
Education
- Student Centered Funding Formula COLA. Upgraded from 2.41% to 4.31%, adding $197.7 million in new Prop 98 funds for community colleges.
- Dual Enrollment / Career Pathways. Student Support and Professional Development Discretionary Block Grant increases to $5 billion, with career pathways and dual enrollment explicitly named as a priority.
- Adult Learner Demonstration Project. A new proposal of $9.7 million one-time investment over three years to help adult workers move into stable, higher-paying jobs.
- Cradle-to-Career Data System. Funding is maintained.
- Credit for Prior Learning. Maintains funding from the January proposal – $37 million Prop 98 General Fund, of which $2 million is ongoing.
- Strong Workforce Program. Not addressed – no restoration of cuts from previous budget cycle.
- Prop 98 Rainy Day Fund. Of the $6.4 billion Guarantee increase, $4.6 billion goes to the Rainy Day Fund and will not immediately flow to schools and colleges.
Workforce Development
- Workforce Pell Grant. $664,000 to support state implementation of the new federal Workforce Pell Grant program.
- Proposition 1 Behavioral Health Investments. $174.8 million Behavioral Health Services Fund for the Department of Public Health, $131.1 million for the Department of Health Care Access and Information, and $10 million for the Commission for Behavioral Health in 2026-27. Includes funding to implement new behavioral health population-based prevention and workforce programs and continue the BH-CONNECT Workforce Initiative.
- MCO Tax. The Managed Care Organization tax is set to expire in December 2026. This is a significant funding source for Medi-Cal and workforce-connected health programs, and its expiration poses risks to ongoing investments.
- SEED 4.0 / Immigrant Entrepreneurship. No funding included.
Safety Net
- California Food Assistance Program (CFAP). Future spending triggers maintained, with $117.2 million in 2027-28 growing to $163.2 million in 2028-29.
- Child Care. Cost of Care Plus Rate payments for subsidized child care providers are maintained.
- Medi-Cal Premiums for Undocumented Adults. Proposes $50 monthly premium for undocumented adults aged 19-59.
- Child Care COLA and Emergency Bridge. January cuts not restored.
Appropriations Suspense Outcomes
View the Senate Suspense Results here.
View the Assembly Suspense Results here.
EDGE SUPPORTED BILLS:
PASSED AB 1871 (Fong) College and Career Access Pathways – Dual Enrollment. This bill removes key barriers to make CCAP dual enrollment more accessible and equitable, simplifying the application process, removing the 4-course per term limit, and adding flexibility for asynchronous online courses. Analysis.
PASSED AB 1534 (Irwin) Workforce Pell Grants. This bill establishes a state approval process for short-term workforce programs seeking access to newly authorized federal Workforce Pell Grants, ensuring program quality and incorporating guardrails to protect students. Analysis.
HELD SB 1006 (Padilla) Cal Grant B. This bill indexes the Cal Grant B award amount to inflation so that financial aid for non-tuition costs keeps pace with rising living expenses for low-income students. Analysis.
PASSED SB 1054 (Cabaldon) Better Data, Better Coverage, Better California Act (EDGE CO-SPONSOR). This bill requires the Employment Development Department to collect and share hours-worked and occupation data from employers, helping protect hundreds of thousands of Californians from losing Medi-Cal and CalFresh benefits under new federal work reporting requirements, while also strengthening California’s workforce data infrastructure. Analysis.
EDGE MONITORED BILLS OF INTEREST:
PASSED AB 2634 (Zbur) High Road Training Partnerships. This bill requires the California Workforce Development Board to give a scoring preference in grant awards to applicants that are, or are applying on behalf of, a bona fide labor-management cooperation committee. Analysis.
PASSED AB 1980 (Caloza) Equal Representation in Construction Apprenticeships Grant Program. This bill would require the Department of Industrial Relations, through the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, to establish the Equal Representation in Construction Apprenticeships Grant Program to increase equitable access to building and construction career pathways for women, nonbinary individuals, and other underrepresented groups.
PASSED AB 2300 (Arambula) Workforce Development: Applicable Law. This bill modernizes the administrative framework for California’s workforce development system by exempting Employment Development Department grants to local workforce development boards from state contracting requirements and streamlining reporting, auditing, and guidance-issuance processes under the California Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
PASSED SB 1422 (Durazo) Medi-Cal: Eligibility: Immigration Status. This bill amends the Medi-Cal program to address eligibility provisions related to immigration status, aimed at maintaining health care access for low-income Californians amid federal policy changes. Analysis.
PASSED AB 2299 (Calderon) California Antihunger Response and Employment Training Act of 2026. This bill creates a new CalFresh employment and training program structure to help food-insecure Californians, including those facing new federal SNAP work requirements, access job training and employment supports through community colleges and other providers. Analysis.
HELD SB 961 (Ashby) CalFresh for Students Act. This bill streamlines the process for college students at California’s public higher education institutions to access CalFresh food assistance benefits by clarifying student eligibility rules and cutting red tape, particularly important as federal support for students is scaled back. Analysis.
For questions or more information, please contact Valerie Johnson, EDGE Policy & Advocacy Manager, at vjohnson@caedge.org.