CA Gov. Gavin Newsom and top Democrats are deciding California’s budget behind closed doors

With only a few weeks left until the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, both sides refuse to publicly discuss what specific issues are holding up a deal.

Newsom’s office and his Department of Finance declined to answer questions about the remaining differences with the Legislature that still need to be worked out. Representatives for Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, who are in charge of negotiating with the governor, would not make them available to the media today after their members approved a spending plan that almost certainly will not be the actual budget.